Rahul vows justice for slain Manipuri musician
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday vowed to get justice for the slain Manipuri musician Chongtham Vikram Singh and said it has become a fashion in the country for the powerful to be violent and arrogant.
The leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha said incidents like the “murder” of Vikram Singh have been happening too much in the country and asserted that “we stand against it, will fight and defeat it”.
“It is a tragedy on many accounts. It is a tragedy that a young man has been murdered. It is also a tragedy that he was attacked because of where he was from, it is a tragedy for people of Manipur. Of course, it is not the only tragedy that people of Manipur have been facing, you have been facing huge tragedies again and again and again over the last few years. “It is a tragedy because an amazing talent has been taken away, it is a tragedy because his son will never see his father and his parents will never see their son again,” the former Congress chief said.
It doesn’t matter whether it is a mistake or not as there was violence, hatred and arrogance in the act, he said. “It is something that has become a fashion these days that if you are powerful, you can be violent. If you are powerful, somehow you can be arrogant, somehow you can do whatever you feel like,” he said at a memorial gathering for Singh at the Ambedkar International Centre here. Gandhi said he doesn’t believe in fighting violence with violence. So, the question arises how one responds to this and the answer is that one should not respond with anger and hatred but one should respond by expressing oneself, by defending the idea one stands for and by showing the talent one has, he said.
Gandhi said one should respond by stating that “we are not going to accept this nonsense, we are not going to be pushed aside by this violence, we are not going to be frightened of this violence and we are all going to stand against this violence”. That to him, Gandhi said, was the best answer. In politics and life, symbols are very important and Vikram Singh is a symbol of a life that was well-lived, a symbol of love and affection, he added. “We are extremely proud of him. We expect justice, we will get justice and we will not be cowed down or scared of violence,” Gandhi asserted.
“We organised this function today because this is not a single incident. This happens now all the time. Sometimes it does not end in murder, sometimes it is just an insult, sometimes it is just a threat, sometimes it is just violence but it is happening too much in our country.
“It is happening to our brothers and sisters from the Northeast and it is happening to many different communities in this country. We stand against it, we will fight and will defeat it,” he said.
Speaking on the occasion, former Manipur chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh said the incident was really shocking for the whole nation and especially the Northeast people.
“We are not here for politics or political gain. India attained Independence more than 70 years ago and still we are asked whether we are from Nepal or elsewhere. Manipur is a part of India. Though small in size, it is a state of India. How long can we tolerate this type of attitude towards Manipur and the Northeast,” he said. Slamming the BJP, Ibobi Singh said this party came to power and every alternate day there are killings in Manipur and like Britishers, they are using the policy of divide and rule.
