The Left Democratic Front (LDF) has announced a Statewide ‘Save Manipur’ mass agitation on July 27, expressing solidarity with the people of violence-hit Manipur.
Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, LDF convener E.P. Jayarajan said the agitation would be held at all 140 Assembly constituencies across the State from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Ahead of the agitation, the front’s district committees would meet on Sunday, followed by a meeting of constituency-level committees on Monday.
“Manipur has been torn apart by ethnic strife for months. Mafia gangs have taken control of the State. No other State has witnessed such communal violence. However, the State administration has failed to take strong action against this. On the other hand, the Union government has not made any effort to restore peace and has supported all the anti-people measures taken by the State government. The LDF has decided to organise large public gatherings in all the constituencies to appeal to the social conscience against this unprecedented chain of violence,” said Mr .Jayarajan.
Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan condemned the ongoing violence in Manipur in a tweet. “Horrifying accounts of violence from Manipur have shattered the conscience of every Indian. The ongoing strife in the State is caused by the vicious agenda of fuelling communal tensions. All secular and democratic forces should demand the restoration of peace and normalcy in Manipur,” he tweeted.
The LDF’s mass mobilisation programme comes close on the heels of the CPI(M)‘s series of seminars against the Union government’s plan to implement a Uniform Civil Code (UCC).
The ruling alliance had accused the Congress of equivocation on the UCC issue and invited the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) to join a broad front to resist the Sangh Parivar’s agenda to transform India into a Hindu majoritarian State.
The LDF’s campaign also seems to dovetail with its political intent to make inroads into the United Democratic Front’s traditional Christian heartlands in central and northern Kerala, with an eye on the looming 2024 Lok Sabha election and the forthcoming Assembly byelection in Puthuppally.
The focus on Manipur seems particularly pertinent in view of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)‘s attempts earlier this year to appeal to Christian voters, much of which arguably became undone after the outbreak of violence in Manipur, where churches also came under attack.
The LDF will also be extending support to the government’s week-long Keraleeyam programme, which will begin on Kerala Piravi Day on November 1.
Seminars, discussions and large public events, with national and international experts from various fields, will be organised as part of the programme to take the LDF government’s achievements to the masses.
