Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday defeated the no-confidence motion with a majority voice vote and assured the nation his government would find a solution to the ongoing Manipur crisis and “peace” would return to the state that has been rocked by ethnic violence for 100 days.
Mr Modi was speaking on the third day of the no-confidence motion in parliament against his Bharatiya Janata Party's government over its inability to control the deadly violence in the north-eastern state, which has led to the deaths of at least 180 and left more than 60,000 homeless.
“People are facing problems, many people have lost their family members, grave crimes have been committed against women,” Mr Modi said in the closing a more than two-hour long speech.
“I want to assure you that the guilty would not be spared. The centre and state government is making all efforts.
“I want to tell the women, daughters, sisters of Manipur that the nation stands with you. We will together find a solution to this crisis and peace will prevail again.
“I assure you that in Manipur, all efforts will be made to expedite the pace of development of Manipur.”
A no-confidence motion was moved by the newly formed alliance of opposition parties called INDIA last week that accused Mr Modi of remaining silent over the violence that continues unabated, despite tens of thousands of security forces being deployed in the region.
Manipur, bordering Myanmar, is ruled by Mr Modi's BJP.
Mr Modi started his speech by speaking on his government’s achievements in the past nine years, while opposition leaders shouted “Manipur, Manipur”.
“This [motion] is a blessing from God, who suggested the opposition to come up with this proposal [for a no-confidence motion] … A no-confidence motion is not a floor-test of our government but the opposition's,” he said.
But as he continued to speak about his party and how it has created a corruption-free government, the opposition leaders walked out. It was then that he started speaking on the Manipur crisis.
“PM Modi spoke today for over 133 mins in [before the governing body] Lok Sabha,” said Saket Gokhale, a parliamentarian from the opposition Trinamool Congress.
“Of this, he spoke of the ongoing Manipur rapes and violence for only four minutes. INDIA moved a no-confidence motion only to force PM Modi to speak on Manipur and yet, he had no guts to address the rapes and mass killing incited by his party BJP in Manipur.”
It was the first time he spoke on the ethnic violence in the north-eastern state, although he had briefly spoken on the sexual assault of two tribal women by a mob after a video went viral in June, sparking widespread outrage.
The Prime Minister was facing the facing a no-confidence motion for the second time since his party came to power in 2014.
In 2018, a politician from Telugu Desam Party moved for a no-confidence motion over the non-allocation of sufficient funds to the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. It was defeated after a 12-hour debate.
What is the Supreme Petroleum Council?
The Abu Dhabi Supreme Petroleum Council was established in 1988 and is the highest governing body in Abu Dhabi’s oil and gas industry. The council formulates, oversees and executes the emirate’s petroleum-related policies. It also approves the allocation of capital spending across state-owned Adnoc’s upstream, downstream and midstream operations and functions as the company’s board of directors. The SPC’s mandate is also required for auctioning oil and gas concessions in Abu Dhabi and for awarding blocks to international oil companies. The council is chaired by Sheikh Khalifa, the President and Ruler of Abu Dhabi while Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, is the vice chairman.
The%20trailblazers
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UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
Women's Prize for Fiction shortlist
The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Milkman by Anna Burns
Ordinary People by Diana Evans
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
Circe by Madeline Miller
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
THE BIG MATCH
Arsenal v Manchester City,
Sunday, Emirates Stadium, 6.30pm
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
Results:
6.30pm: Mazrat Al Ruwayah (PA) | Group 2 | US$55,000 (Dirt) | 1,600 metres
Winner: AF Al Sajanjle, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
7.05pm: Meydan Sprint (TB) | Group 2 | $250,000 (Turf) | 1,000m
Winner: Blue Point, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
7.40pm: Firebreak Stakes | Group 3 | $200,000 (D) | 1,600m
Winner: Muntazah, Jim Crowley, Doug Watson
8.15pm: Meydan Trophy Conditions (TB) | $100,000 (T) | 1,900m
Winner: Art Du Val, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
8.50pm: Balanchine Group 2 (TB) | $250,000 (T) | 1,800m
Winner: Poetic Charm, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) | $135,000 (D) | 1,200m
Winner: Lava Spin, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
10pm: Handicap (TB) | $175,000 (T) | 2,410m
Winner: Mountain Hunter, Christophe Soumillon, Saeed bin Suroor
SPECS
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ENGLAND%20SQUAD
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INDIA SQUAD
Rohit Sharma (captain), Shikhar Dhawan (vice-captain), KL Rahul, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik (wicketkeeper), Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Vijay Shankar, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammad Siraj and Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper)
