New Delhi
\nIndia\u2019s opposition leader Rahul Gandhi condemned Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s inaction over deadly ethnic conflict in the country\u2019s northeast on Wednesday, in his first parliamentary speech since his defamation conviction was suspended.
\nModi\u2019s administration is being forced this week to defend its conduct over violence in Manipur state that has killed at least 120 people.
\nGandhi\u2019s fiery address to the chamber was part of a no-confidence debate demanding the government\u2019s resignation for letting the unrest fester for months.
\n\u201cYou are throwing kerosene in the whole country. You threw kerosene in Manipur, and lit a spark,\u201d Gandhi said, with cheers from supporters and jeers from rival lawmakers.
\n\u201cYou\u2019re set on burning the whole country. You are killing Mother India\u201d, he added.
\nModi\u2019s Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is regularly accused by opponents of fomenting divisions for electoral purposes, and India will hold general elections early next year.
\nThe ruling BJP has a large majority in the 543-member lower house, and is expected to comfortably defeat the no-confidence vote, which it has dismissed as a headline-grabbing gimmick.
\n\u201cIndia\u2019s army can bring in peace in one day but you\u2019re not using it,\u201d Gandhi told fellow lawmakers. \u201cIf Modi doesn\u2019t listen to the voice of India, then whose voice does he listen to?\u201d
\nSoldiers have been rushed in from other parts of India to contain the violence and a curfew and internet shutdown remain in force across most of the state.
\nGandhi, the scion of India\u2019s premier political dynasty, was restored to parliament on Monday after the Supreme Court last week suspended his defamation conviction over comments criticising Modi.
\nGandhi was sentenced to two years\u2019 imprisonment in March in a case that critics flagged as an effort to stifle political opposition in the world\u2019s largest democracy.
\nGandhi, 53, is the son, grandson and great-grandson of three former prime ministers, beginning with independence leader Jawaharlal Nehru.
\nCongress was once India\u2019s dominant political force but Gandhi has led it to two landslide defeats against the BJP and its nationalistic appeals to the country\u2019s Hindu majority.
\nGandhi and his allies are attempting to stitch together a grand coalition of smaller parties ahead of next year\u2019s national elections, in which Modi will seek a third successive term.
\nAt least 120 people have been killed in Manipur since May in armed clashes between the predominantly Hindu Meitei majority and the mainly Christian Kuki community.
\nThe state has fractured on ethnic lines, with rival militias setting up blockades to keep out members of the opposing community.
\nModi has been criticised by opponents for taking more than two months to speak about the conflict from when clashes began.
\nThe no-confidence debate is scheduled to conclude on Thursday after a speech by the prime minister.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New Delhi India\u2019s opposition leader Rahul Gandhi condemned Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s inaction over deadly ethnic conflict in the country\u2019s northeast on Wednesday, in his first parliamentary speech since his defamation conviction was suspended. Modi\u2019s administration is being forced this week to defend its conduct over violence in Manipur state that has killed at least […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":348093,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-348278","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n