Kolkata: Bihar Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Vinod Sharma has tendered his resignation alleging that the ongoing violence in Manipur has “defamed India” on a global stage.
Speaking to news agency PTI on Thursday, July 27, Sharma said that he had resigned with a “heavy heart”.
“I have resigned from the BJP with a heavy heart. The situation in Manipur has agitated the whole nation and defamed the image of India in front of the world,” he said.
VIDEO | "I have resigned from BJP with a heavy heart. Manipur situation has defamed India," says BJP leader Vinod Sharma after resigning from the party over Manipur issue. pic.twitter.com/QUwhrG92Tx
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 27, 2023
“It is unfortunate the chief minister of Manipur says that there are several such incidents happening, how many should we act on.”
“The way the daughters and sisters of India have been paraded naked on the streets, and the manner in which they were groped and raped, after all this, such a statement from the chief minister is astonishing,” he said.
Sharma was referring to the video that went viral showing two Kuki women being paraded naked, in B Phainom village in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district on May 4, a day after the ongoing ethnic clashes between the Meiteis and Kukis began.
Seventy-nine days after the violence broke out, Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke his silence about Manipur, with many asking why the government needs a graphic depiction of violence against women to act.
However, when Modi spoke about the video, he did not address the collapse of law and order in the state or the ongoing overall violence.
Meanwhile, the Monsoon Session has witnessed several adjournments as opposition MPs demand the prime minister’s statement on Manipur inside the house.
A no-confidence motion has also been moved by the Congress on Wednesday, July 26.
The Modi government has said that it is ready for a discussion on Manipur but the opposition has remained firm on its demand for a statement from the prime minister.
According to a report in Amar Ujala, Sharma’s resignation letter has been pasted in the form of a banner in Patna, including in front of the Rashtriya Janata Dal and Janata Dal (United) offices in the city.
The poster reads: “Bharat ki behen betiya kare chitkaar, sharam karo beti bachao ka nara dene wali Modi sarkar” (India’s daughters and sisters are screaming, be ashamed, those who raise slogans of Beti Bachao, Modi Sarkar).
The poster also includes the text of his resignation letter addressed to BJP president J.P. Nadda.
In the letter, Sharma has said that the Manipur chief minister, N. Biren Singh, is responsible for the ongoing violence in the state, and has accused the prime minister of shielding Singh.
“The way the daughters and sisters of India have been paraded naked on the streets, and the manner in which they were groped and raped, has shamed India in front of the world,” read the letter.
He said that he feels stigmatised working under such leadership and is, therefore, tendering his resignation.
The JD(U) also criticised the BJP, citing Sharma’s resignation.
अब तो @BJP4India नेता भी अपनी सरकार से लज्जित महसूस कर रहे हैं।
डबल इंजन की सरकार के शर्मनाक रवैये से व्यथित होकर पार्टी से इस्तीफा देते हुए बिहार भाजपा के प्रदेश प्रवक्ता विनोद शर्मा ने लिखा:- 'माणिपुर में बेटियों को पूर्ण नग्न कर भीड़ में सड़कों पर घुमायें जाने के कारण पूरे… pic.twitter.com/jKtYWXOdKl
— Janata Dal (United) (@Jduonline) July 27, 2023
The party shared the text of Sharma’s resignation letter on Twitter, and wrote that even BJP leaders are feeling “ashamed of their government”.
Earlier this month, Mizoram BJP vice-president, R. Vanramchhuanga, resigned from the party, accusing the Union and the state governments of supporting the burning down of churches in Manipur.
