Shashi Tharoor seeks PM's response on Manipur inside Parliament

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has finally broken his silence on Manipur, but now he should speak on it inside Parliament also.

"Deeply concerned about the fact that the PM was silent for so long. None of us could understand it. We are very glad that he broke his silence, now we would like him to approach the issue in Parliament to discuss it...We want to discuss it when he speaks inside the Parliament. He has spoken outside the Parliament, to the media. I am very glad, he has at least raised his voice. Now, let him bring the voice to the Parliament itself."

Tharoor's comments came after the Prime Minister earlier today, while reacting for the first time on Manipur violence and on the video of two Manipuri women being paraded naked, said outside Parliament that his heart was filled with pain and anger.

"The incident of Manipur which has come to the fore is shameful for any civilisation. The country is shamed. I appeal to all chief ministers to strengthen laws to take stringent action against crime, especially against women," Modi said, while giving his customary statement before the commencement of the monsoon session.

However he went on to club incidents of violence in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh (both Congress-ruled states) also in his statement.

"The incident might be from Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh or Manipur, the culprit should not go scot-free in any corner of the country," the prime minister said.

The opposition has been seeking Modi's response on violence in Manipur in Parliament, where since the past more than two months, hundreds have been killed and thousands have been displaced due to ethnic clashes between majority Meitei community and Christian Kukis. Several opposition members today had given notices for adjournment motion on Manipur in both Houses.

Rajya Sabha saw protests by Congress-led opposition members on the issue, which led to adjournments there. Meanwhile, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur on Thursday said that Rajasthan is the "leading state in terms of crimes against women", even as the Centre is under fire from the Congress-opposition over violence in Manipur.

Speaking to mediapersons outside Parliament, Thakur while referring to incidents of rape and arson in Alwar and Jaipur, said that Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi should be ashamed of what has happened in Rajasthan. He said that one incident of violence against a woman took place in Jaipur, close to chief minister Ashok Gehlot's residence