New Delhi: Civil Aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Thursday accused opposition bloc INDIA of misusing the violence in Manipur as a "launchpad" for itself. Speaking during the no-confidence motion in Parliament, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said the INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) alliance is an arrogant bloc that got together in its greed for power but has differences within themselves.
"I.N.D.I.A is misusing the Manipur issue as a launchpad for itself," the minister said in the Lok Sabha.
"The situation that arose in view of the no-confidence motion is not about Manipur but about reaping political gains from the situation for them," Scindia said.
Targeting his former party Congress, Scindia said, "All of the northeastern problems started with appeasement politics of Congress when they allowed intruders inside the border.
The minister added that the previous nine years were the most peaceful period in Manipur, where there was three times less insurgency and six times less civilian deaths
He also cited previous incidents of violence in other parts of the country during the UPA rule during his speech.
Scindia also hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's remarks in which he said that "for the prime minister, Manipur is not a part of India". "Seeing (regions of) India as different parts is your thought process, not ours,"
Scindia said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has his heart in the northeast and is also responsible for the abrogation of Article 370, Scindia said.
"In the temple of democracy, we are where the country's 140 crore take inspiration from. It is clear that these people do not care about the post of PM or India or the post of president but just care about their status," he said.
LIVE: संसद में श्री @JM_Scindia जी का सदन को सम्बोधन https://t.co/h7C8o9SbR3
— Office Of JM Scindia (@Officejmscindia) August 10, 2023
When Opposition members took a jibe at Scindia for leaving Congress to join BJP, Scindia retorted, "You only changed me."
The minister also hit out at Gandhi's 'Mohabbat ki dukaan' slogan, saying the shop has "corruption, lies, appeasement and arrogance".
"You have changed the name of the dukaan (shop) but you are selling the same thing," he said.
