Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh has made yet another controversial statement, saying if the BJP returned to power, the State government would reopen Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) shops.
Strong reactions are expected from the anti-liquor and anti-drug organisation Coalition Against Drugs and Alcohol (CADA) and almost all insurgent groups in the State.
Speaking in an election-related function on February 24, Mr. Singh said several people were dying as a result of consuming poisonous country liquor. In order to ‘save’ the people, the BJP government would reopen IMFL shops.
Banned underground group Revolutionary People’s Front forced the closure of all foreign liquor shops from January 1, 1991. There were 63 liquor shops and three bonded warehouses for a small State with a population of less than 17 lakh in those days. The ubiquitous roadside kiosks openly sold IMFL bottles.
Other insurgent groups joined the campaign. Many repeat offending bootleggers were kneecapped and habitual drunkards beaten up and forced to swim in icy water. Women also joined the campaign. When the government made a silent move to reopen liquor shops to earn hefty revenue, the insurgents said that the campaign was still on.
‘Fake encounters’
In a joint statement Babloo Loitongbam, executive director of the Human Rights Alert and Renu Takhellambam, president of the Extrajudicial Execution Victim Families Association Manipur (EEVFAM), urged politicians not to politicise the killings of 1,528 civilians in “fake encounters.”
The cases are pending in the Supreme Court.
Ms. Takhellambam said, “There were expectations among the people that the BJP government may cooperate in expediting disposal of the cases. At the orders of the apex court, the CBI launched an investigation. There was not much progress since the prosecution sanction was denied for about 30 cases involving Central forces”.
In the run-up to the previous Manipur Assembly poll, the BJP used these alleged fake encounters to sandbag the Congress.
In election meetings for the forthcoming Assembly poll, Mr. Singh has been saying that during the Congress rule, women could not sleep peacefully since they were worried about their sons and husbands. They had to remain in mosquito-infested sheds at roadsides waiting for the male family members.
He added, “Today, all persons can — and do — sleep peacefully since there is no such fake encounter under the BJP rule.”
Ms. Takhellambam added, “The BJP came to power in 2017 in Manipur. But fake encounters had stopped before the formation of the BJP-led coalition government in Manipur.”
