Attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his silence even as Manipur has been “burning” for more than 40 days, former Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh on Friday asked whether Mr. Modi considered the State part of India or not.
A delegation of top Manipur leaders from ten political parties, including the Congress, have been camping in Delhi for the last week, seeking to meet the PM, but have failed to get an appointment.
“Is Manipur part of India or not? If it is part of India then why is the Indian Prime Minister not meeting us? We remain hopeful that the Prime Minister will grant us an audience before he leaves for his foreign tour,” Mr. Singh said. Underlining the gravity of the situation in Manipur, he said that more than 20,000 persons — most of whom are women and children — are living in relief camps, while many more have been displaced.
‘No response from PMO’
The delegation — which includes leaders from the Janata Dal (United), the Communist Party of India and the CPI (Marxist), Trinamool Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, All India Forward Bloc, Shiv Sena (UBT), Nationalist Congress Party, and Revolutionary Socialist Party — addressed a joint press conference at the Congress headquarters in Delhi on Friday.
They said they had e-mailed to the Prime Minister’s office seeking an appointment on June 10 and hand-delivered their request on June 12, but have not been given any response yet.
‘Manipur ki baat’
Comparing the current situation with June 18, 2001 when a similar blockade started in Manipur, Congress general secretary for communications Jairam Ramesh said that the government of the day, headed by BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee, was more responsive. Within six days of the violence breaking out in the State, Mr. Vajpayee met an all-party delegation from the State on June 24, 2001. On July 8, then-Home Minister L.K. Advani also met the delegation. On both occasions, Mr. Vajpayee appealed for calm and urged cooperation with the administration to restore normalcy in Manipur.
“Today, leaders from ten parties are waiting to meet PM Modi, but he remains silent,” Mr. Ramesh said. He also expressed disappointment that even after Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to Manipur, there has been no tangible improvement in the situation. The Congress leader demanded that Mr. Modi pay heed to Vajpayee’s appeal and meet with the delegation. He called for “Manipur ki Baat” instead of the PM’s popular “Mann ki Baat” program.
“Manipur is burning because of RSS’ ideology and BJP’s politics,” he said.
