Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot slams PM Modi for ignoring Manipur violence

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot criticizes Prime Minister Narendra Modi for allegedly ignoring the recent violence in Manipur, in remarks that escalate a growing political dispute over the safety of women in the nation.

Ashok Gehlot, a senior Congress leader, questioned the Prime Minister’s recent tour of election-bound states, while seemingly ignoring the volatile situation in Manipur, a state ruled by his own government. The Rajasthan Chief Minister relayed these views to the press at his residence in Jaipur.

The Prime Minister has been censured for his comments on incidents in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh while discussing a disturbing video from Manipur where women were paraded naked and molested. Ashok Gehlot interpreted these comments as an insinuation that Rajasthan’s Chief Minister and his administration should take greater responsibility for their state’s law and order situation, a remark that he claims has hurt the pride of Rajasthan’s residents.

Ashok Gehlot questions Narendra Modi’s priorities amid Manipur crisis. Photo courtesy of Ministry of Home Affairs (GODL-India)/Wikimedia Commons.

The Rajasthan Chief Minister further suggested that Prime Minister Modi should have coordinated a meeting to assess the state of affairs in Manipur, especially since he hadn’t personally visited the area. Narendra Modi’s call for all Chief Ministers to improve law and order in their respective states came in response to the sexual assault incidents in Manipur, and he included Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh in his plea. His comments about the issue being above politics were made in the context of the upcoming Monsoon session of Parliament.

The escalating controversy comes against the backdrop of a minister in Gehlot’s cabinet being removed after criticizing his own administration’s handling of crimes against women in Rajasthan. Rajendra Singh Gudha made the admission of failure in women’s safety during an address at the state assembly, prompting Ashok Gehlot to recommend his removal to Governor Kalraj Mishra.