Left parties on Thursday hit out at the Union government over the video showing two women being paraded naked in Manipur, questioning claims made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on women's safety and his long-held silence on the strife in the hill state.
Tension mounted in Manipur after a video, purported to have been shot on May 4, surfaced on Wednesday showing two women from one of the warring communities in the northeastern state being paraded naked by a mob from the other side.
The Manipur Police on Thursday arrested one of the main accused who was seen in the video.
"PM Modi continues to remain silent even after this horrendous double engine horror. Silence reflects inhuman callousness. Such barbarism is criminal & abhorrent.
"This ghastly crime happened 77 days ago. Surely, Manipur authorities and police knew about it, yet no action was taken. No urgency being shown even now to act and deliver justice," said CPI-Marxist general secretary Sitaram Yechury in a tweet.
CPI general secretary D Raja questioned the PM on his claims on protecting women and women's empowerment through his schemes.
"PM’s claims about 'Beti Bachao' and 'Nari Shakti' lies in tatters before the video that has surfaced in Manipur. Perpetrators of this heinous crime are still at large as testimony to complete failure of the BJP govt from Delhi to Imphal. These crimes will not be forgiven by the people!," Raja said.
CPI MP Binoy Viswam questioned how the PM could chair the G-20 meet in the backdrop of such an incident.
"Where is 'Naree Shakthi'? With what face the PM would chair G-20?" he asked in a tweet.
CPI-Marxist-Leninist chief Dipankar Bhattacharya linked the parading of the women with the "Sangh's culture of mob violence." "The video of Kuki women being paraded as war trophies in Manipur reveals the true state of the BJP's 'double engine governance' and brings home the horrific reality of the Sangh brigade's culture of mob violence. The silence of the PM has only compounded the crime," he said in a tweet.
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