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HM’s address in Parliament
The Minister of Home Affairs and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah on 9 August speaking on the No-Confidence Motion, said that the Motion was moved by the Opposition with the sole intention of spreading misconception. We are publishing excerpts of the speech for our esteemed readers :
I rise to express my views on the No Confidence Motion moved by Opposition in the House. I can say with full conviction that this No Confidence Motion has been moved with the sole intention of spreading misconception. It does not reflect the aspirations of the people. People have full faith in the Government. And that faith is because of the new hope instilled by the Prime Minister and the Government in the lives of 60 crore poor people of this country. If there is any one Government in which the people of this country have reposed maximum faith since independence, it is this Government. Our hon’ble Prime Minister is the most popular Prime Minister of the country since independence. This Government has taken more than 50 epochs making decisions during the nine years which have been recorded in the history in golden words. Before the year 2014, democracy in India was under the clutches of corruption, casteism and nepotism. Our hon’ble Prime Minister has given priority to politics of performance over corruption, nepotism and appeasement.
Opposition has been exposed during No Confidence Motion
No Confidence Motion is a constitutional provision. Opposition has the right to move No Confidence Motion. No Confidence Motion brings the real character of the parties and the coalitions to the fore. Opposition has been exposed during such No Confidence Motions on several occasions in the past. Our party under the leadership of hon’ble Prime Minister is in politics to replace the corrupt politics with the politics based on ideals and not just to somehow remain in power. No Confidence Motion is a question mark on the overall performance of the Government. Since the questions being asked are politically motivated, I have to discuss the performance of the Government. This Government has provided gas cylinders to 9.6 crores poor households and also made provisions to give the facility of toilets to 11.72 lakh households. It has provided water to 12.65 lakh houses through water taps under Har Ghar Jal scheme. This government has transferred 2,40,000 crore rupees into the Bank accounts of 14.5 crore farmers. We have waived the entire cost on healthcare facilities for 50 crore people up to a limit of five lakh rupees. Rs 25 lakh crore has been directly transferred into the Bank accounts of the poor of the country. This government has performed the task of purchasing maximum amount of paddy on maximum MSP.
Policies of the government on Kashmir have changed
I would like to draw the attention of the government towards the internal security of the country. Kashmir, the region affected by left wing extremism and the North East region are considered three major hotspots posing a challenge to the internal security of the country. Congress led governments used to rule the nation and States and these areas continued to pose grave threat to our internal security. Today, I would like to make it amply clear in this House that the real cause for the problem in Kashmir was the politics of vote bank, indifference in addressing this problem and the lackadaisical approach of the previous governments. Since 2014 policies of the government on Kashmir have changed. This government has taken the landmark decision to alter the situation in Kashmir. There has been 68 percent decline in the number of terrors starikes cumulatively during the last 9 years. The cases of incidents of death attributed to terrorism have registered a 72 percent decline for the security personnel and the ordinary citizens. A decrease of 82 percent has been registered in the cases of death of ordinary citizens attributed to terrorism. NIA and ED have been linked and the financing network supporting these extremist activities has been dismantled. A new vertical has been created in NIA to decline left wing extremism and investigating the cases relating to it.
North East registered a decrease in the extremist activities
Now I want to take up the issue of the North East region which was considered the third hotspot posing a challenge to internal security. The incidents of extremist activities in the region have decrease from 10000 to 3238 which is a decrease by 68 percent. The cases of casualty of security personnel in the region have decreased from 397 to 128 which is 68 percent decrease and the number of cases of death of citizens have decreased from 2298 to 420 which is a decrease by 82 percent. North East region has registered a decrease in the extremist activities under each head.
Modi government has sincerely worked to connect North East with India
The Modi government has sincerely worked to connect North East with India. This
The incidents of extremist activities in the region have decrease from 10000 to 3238 which is a decrease by 68 percent
government has worked to bring North East into the mainstream of the nation. Modi ji has visited the North East on more than 50 occasions during nine years. During the nine years of Modi government 8000 armed extremists have surrendered in toto. A misconception was created that this government is not willing to discuss the Manipur issue. I want to tell that I had sought the permission of the Speaker through a letter for initiating a discussion on Manipur much before the summoning of this session as the government had agreed to such a discussion. But they did not want the discussion but wanted to indulge in protest. If they did not feel satisfied with my reply, they could have demanded a reply from the Prime Minister. You should have allowed the Minister of Home Affairs to submit his views on the matter otherwise what kind of democratic provision do you want? I would like to present the data on violent clashes in Manipur because the people of the country should be aware of the nature of ethnic clashes in Manipur.
8 states witnessed insurgencies during UPA government
The BJP government has completed six years in Manipur. No curfew was imposed in Manipur during these six years and the violence causel due to insurgency had almost stopped. Now I will come to the volatile situation in Manipur but before that I want to tell you that eight states were witnessing insurgencies during the rule of UPA government and more than 6 thousand people had been killed in those insurgencies and such extremists have returned to mainstream under this Government. We have reduced the the incidents of extremist violence by 68 percent, the incidents of killing of security personnel by 68 percent and the cases of casualty of citizens by 82 percent.
Manipur and the reasons behind the incidents
Now I want to focus on Manipur and the reasons behind the incidents of violence and the current situation and the steps taken by our government to resolve the crisis. Various circumstances are responsible for the extreme violence perpetrated in Manipur and no one can support such incidents. Such incidents of violence are deplorable and shameful and politicising these incidents is all the more shameful. A rumour got spread on 29 April that the 58 settlements of refugees have been declared proper villages. Whenever rumours spread they spread very fast and it
We are closely monitoring the situation to restore peace. I urge upon both the communities of Manipur to not to resort to violence as it is not the solution to the problem
creates a sense of mistrust. This created unrest amongst people and a judgement delivered by the Honourable High Court of Manipur further aggravated the already volatile situation. That judgement accorded the tribal status to the Meitei community living in the state before 29 April which created unrest amongst tribal communities. These riots are a result of various circumstances. There has been an influx of Kuki refugees in Manipur and Mizoram since the change of guard in Myanmar in the year 2021. This created a sense of insecurity in the other areas of Manipur that such an influx will change the demography of the state.
We assessed the situation and the Ministry of Home Affairs took a decision in the year 2022 not to leave the borders open. But the above mentioned sense of insecurity was not unfounded as the demography in this region plays a decisive role. Meitei community resides in the valley and Kuki and Naga tribal community live in the hilly areas. They always feel the pressure of demographic changes which can reduce their status to a minority. Such influx creates a sense of insecurity amongst the Meitei community.
Honourable Prime Minister immediately took cognizance of the entire matter and the urgent steps were taken by the Government to deploy the armed security personnel in large numbers and other administrative measures were also taken. The incidents of violence are gradually on the decline. I want to apprise the members of this House of the steps taken to restore peace. We have constituted a Peace Committee under the Chairmanship of the Governor. More than 36000 security personnel have been deployed in the area between the regions belonging to Meitei community and Kuki community and which is now serving as a buffer zone between the two. Unified Command system has been evolved for better inter agency coordination because this includes BSF, CRPF, Assam Rifles, Army and Manipur police. Victim and rehabilitation package has been provided to the State. The task of providing ten lakh rupees to the families of the deceased has been completed. Approximately 30 thousand metric tonnes of rice has been delivered to the State. Eight teams of Government of India from different AIIMS have been camping in the State to provide medical facilities. District Collectors of four affected districts have been provided with the facility of video conferencing to ensure hearing of people in court cases without attending the court in person. 98 percent schools have been opened in the valley and they are registering 80 percent attendance.
Closely monitoring the situation to restore peace
I am reviewing the security with the Unified Command every week through video conferencing. We are closely monitoring the situation to restore peace. I urge upon both the communities of Manipur to not to resort to violence as it is not the solution to the problem. I request them to solve this problem by cooperating with the Government of India and indulging in a dialogue. Rumours have created more mistrust. Government of India does not intend to alter the demography of the region. I request you to not to indulge in politics over this issue.