Lashing out at the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not addressing the Manipur issue, political commentator Sanjay Jha, during an interview with CNBC-TV18, said that it should not have come to the point where the opposition parties had to go for the no-confidence motion to make him speak.

Jha emphasised the fact that the Prime Minister has refrained from participating in any press conferences over the past nine years. He remarked that this is an unprecedented situation, and he has not come across any previous Prime Minister who displayed such apprehension towards facing challenging inquiries from the media.

"You have the first Prime Minister in any democratic country in the world who in 9 years has not had the courage to hold a single press conference. I have never heard of a Prime Minister who is so frightened of addressing media and taking tough questions. However more important point is, what a shame for Indian democracy that the opposition has had to force a legislative strategy of a no confidence motion where we know that we are going to lose as we don't have the numbers but we had no option but to actually force this so that we get the Prime Minister to speak to the people of India," Jha said

The second day of discussions on the no confidence motion witnessed heated exchanges. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, strongly criticised the government, alleging that the BJP has "set the entire country on fire from Manipur to Nuh in Haryana." Lawmakers aligned with the INDIA alliance also condemned the government's handling of the Manipur issue.

In response, Tuhin Sinha, the spokesperson for the BJP, said that Rahul Gandhi's arguments were mere rhetoric lacking substantial content. Sinha added that the opposition seems incapable of comprehending the broader trajectory of development in the North Eastern states.

"What Rahul Gandhi said was rhetoric and was complete devoid of substance. What does he mean by Bharat Mata has been murdered? Manipur has a legacy of ethnic violence. If you go by data, between 2015 and 2017 the figures of ethnic killings are worse. Between 2017 and April 2023, were the best years for Manipur. What has happened in the last three months cannot be defended but look at the larger transformation of the north-eastern states. Instead of no confidence motion, we could have easily debated the Manipur issue. The no confidence motion is a waste of time. So the opposition is simply incapable of getting the larger picture and is the reason why they get decimated in every election," Sinha said.

In Parliament, the BJP vehemently criticised Rahul Gandhi's remarks. Union Minister Smriti Irani accused the opposition of evading a constructive discussion on the Manipur matter. She further stated that the Congress party had been synonymous with corruption in India, while other speakers from the government benches underscored the achievements of the Modi administration.

Watch video for entire discussion.

(Edited by : Pradeep John)