Gaurav Gogoi on no-trust motion: ‘It has gone beyond numbers. It is about preserving Northeast’s territorial integrity’

What is the reason behind asking you to move the motion?

Gogoi: I was instructed to move the motion. I feel it is a good message that the party is sending to the North East. The larger plan was decided at the INDIA alliance meeting. The CPP chairperson felt that it should be someone from the Northeast.

Given the way the numbers are stacked in Lok Sabha, the no-confidence motion is more of a political statement. Why are you insisting that the Prime Minister should speak in Parliament?

Gogoi: It has gone beyond numbers. It is about preserving the territorial integrity and domestic security of the Northeast region, which is a very vital part of India. The conflict which has been simmering in Manipur has now spread to other states too where people in Assam are threatening Mizo people, the people from Manipur who are in Mizoram are being threatened and asked to leave. So, the conflict is spreading and taking on a very dangerous proportion. And the government is misdirecting the attention of the people by talking about the East India Company and the Indian Mujahideen. They are not giving the interest the issue deserves. For a party which always talks about internal security and nationalism, they are for the sake of protecting the image of the Prime Minister and are sacrificing the security and integrity of India. They are giving more importance to the image of the Prime Minister.

What do you think the Prime Minister’s statement will achieve?

Gogoi: Whenever there is a conflict of this nature, which is almost like an internal civil war, it cannot be treated as an ordinary departmental issue or a ministerial issue. So far the Union Home Minister and his Ministry have completely failed. The Union Home Minister visited Manipur and constituted a 51-member peace committee that has been totally rejected. More than 6,000 weapons have been looted from police stations and police armouries … they are with ordinary people and most of these weapons are still with civilians … We have heard about only a few incidents of atrocities against women but there are far more. About 55,000 people continue to be displaced. For a problem of this immense proportion, it is necessary for the Prime Minister to take the initiative by visiting the state and trying to form an effective dialogue between the two communities. Only then will peace return to Manipur. But so far the Prime Minister has been completely absent and missing in action. Therefore, the situation instead of improving, does not seem to be resolved. The wounds that have been created and the animosity that exists, the distrust that exists between various communities of Manipur will now take decades to heal. And the Prime Minister continues to be absent and missing in action. So, it is incumbent on the INDIA alliance to send a message that the Prime Minister may have forgotten Manipur (but) we haven’t … Even though we know the numbers, we are sending a message of solidarity to the people of Manipur to show that the INDIA alliance stands for Manipur, we want justice for Manipur and we will continue to raise the voice of Manipur inside Parliament.

Many Opposition parties had plans to raise issues which are of immediate concern to them. What happened to all those issues? Do you think the Manipur issue will find a resonance in the Hindi heartland, the South Indian states, or Maharashtra?

Gogoi: I am grateful that all the major parties of the INDIA alliance understood that Manipur is a burning issue. In the history of conflict in India, no Prime Minister has acted with such indifference to a conflict of this nature. All previous Prime Ministers, whichever party they may have belonged to, when there had been conflict, they visited the area, they met with the victims, and they tried to sort out the needs and concerns of various communities and showed personal initiative. This Prime Minister also in the past when there was a tragedy in Odisha, the train accident (in Balasore), he visited the site. But for some reason known only to him, he has not visited Manipur even once. So for a party and leader who says that prior to him the Congress abandoned and alienated the Northeast, who prides himself on the fact that he has visited the Northeast so many times, now when the time has come to visit the Northeast he is touring across the world, he is addressing the US Congress but chooses to ignore the nation’s Parliament. Instead of hugging the victims of rape and violence in Manipur, he is going and meeting party workers from different parts of the country. This is only creating a sense of alienation and isolation, a sense of abandonment in the people of Manipur who therefore are taking matters into their own hands, who have refused to return the weapons they have looted, communities which earlier used to live next to each other are now living in their own enclaves. There has been a partition in Manipur. It is quite unfortunate that no other Prime Minister in the history of the country has acted with this level of insensitivity.

The Home Minister visited the state. The Central government says it has been taking steps to defuse the situation. But why do you think the Prime Minister is not visiting the state or is reluctant to make a statement in Parliament?

Gogoi: It is for the Prime Minister to state. That is why his statement which came after 78 days was incomplete. Because he spoke about the atrocities against women. But there are other human rights violations that he should have addressed. He has yet to appeal for peace among the communities. He is meeting his MPs outside Parliament but has not yet met his own BJP MLAs. His own minister’s house was burnt down in Imphal. When there are elections in Gujarat and Uttarakhand, the Prime Minister changes the Chief Minister. In Tripura, he changed the Chief Minister months before the elections. Here the people of Manipur have lost their faith in the Chief Minister … 6,000 weapons were looted. What were the police doing? The Home Department is with the Chief Minister. The peace committee constituted by the Home Minister with the Chief Minister in it has been rejected by the people of Manipur. So the silence of the Prime Minister almost seems to be deliberate … A political design that has been unfolding in Manipur, in this political design the Chief Minister plays a key role and instead of removing him because of his failures, he is being rewarded with continued support from the PM.

The no-confidence motion will see MPs from all parties speaking. The Opposition will attack the government, the treasury Benches will attack the Opposition, the Prime Minister will reply. There will be a vote which, of course, given the numbers will be defeated. At the end of it, what will the Opposition gain?

Gogoi: The Opposition wants all parties in Parliament to stand up and send a message of peace, hope, and solidarity. We want to say India cares about Manipur. We are sorry for the suffering and the loss that they have faced. And we stand with them. This unanimous message should go. And this message should be reiterated by every political party and most importantly that message should be sent by the Prime Minister himself.