President's Rule not forced on Manipur, says BJP's Biplab Deb in Lok Sabha

The BJP on Tuesday defended the imposition of President's Rule in Manipur, saying the decision was not forced on the state but was taken out of compulsion. Initiating a combined debate on the supplementary demands for grants, excess grants and the Manipur budget for the BJP, party leader Biplab Deb also said Manipur and other northeastern states have seen infrastructure push in the last 10 years after the Narendra Modi government came to power at the Centre.

He said Manipur has seen creation of rail and road infrastructure which did not happen in the last several decades.

Deb asserted that now people from rest of India can identify each northeastern state which was not the case in the past.


He said central rule in Manipur was not forced but was imposed out of compulsion as assembly session could not be convened within the prescribed time and constitutional provisions came into play.

The former Tripura chief minister said 75 per cent of the areas in the Northeast are now not covered under the provisions of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA).

Detailing the initiatives of the Modi government, he said from free health insurance to using regional languages in MBBS courses, the government has taken several steps for the benefit of all sections of the society.

He said law on granting 33 per cent reservation to women in Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies was another example of empowerment of women. He said despite Sonia Gandhi being the chair of UPA, the previous regime could not get the women reservation law passed.