Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh is the “architect” of the ethnic violence in his State, leaders of 10 like-minded Opposition parties of Manipur said in a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in which they also questioned the PM’s “stoic silence”.
The leaders said that they submitted the three-page memorandum to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) as they were unable to get an appointment to meet Mr. Modi before he left for the United States on Tuesday morning.
The signatories to the memorandum included leaders from the Congress, Janata Dal (United), Communist Party of India (CPI), CPI (Marxist), Trinamool Congress, Aam Admi Party, Forward Bloc, Nationalist Congress Party, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) and the Revolutionary Socialist Party.
‘No appointment’
Addressing a joint press conference at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters, former Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh said that they were not in Delhi to beg from the Centre but had wanted to meet the Prime Minister as a guardian and to seek his immediate intervention.
Mr. Singh said that Opposition leaders from the State had been camping in Delhi since June 10, but Mr. Modi did not give them any appointment.
The former Chief Minister also wondered whether the Centre would have adopted the same approach if there had been violence in “mainland Indian states like Madhya Pradesh, Bihar or even Bengal”.
Need ‘guts and will’
“Whether Manipur is part of India or not? These kinds of questions are being asked by misguided youth, as you know that until 1949, Manipur was an independent princely state,” Mr. Singh told reporters. “If the Prime Minister and the government of India had guts and will, then violence can be stopped in two-three days or a week at the most. We don’t know if there is any hidden agenda,” the former Manipur Chief Minister added.
The memorandum claimed that over 150 innocent lives were lost and another 1,000 people were injured, about 5,000 houses burnt down and more than 60,000 people have been displaced and are in relief camps. It also said that hundreds of churches and temples have been destroyed.
“Stoic silence of Hon’ble Prime Minister over the ethnic violence which has claimed many lives and created havoc for thousands of citizens in Manipur sends a clear message of indifference to the people of Manipur,” the memorandum said.
‘Territorial integrity’
Alleging that the “BJP’s politics of divide and rule” has led to the present crisis, the memorandum referred to the demand of ten Kuki MLAs, including two Ministers, asking for a “separate administration”.
“We oppose the demand of ‘Separate Administration’ and we stand for unity and territorial integrity of Manipur,” the memorandum said, adding, “Manipur is an extraordinarily diverse society. Peace, harmony and reconciliation among all communities is the need of the hour. The grievances of each and every community must be heard and addressed sensitively.”
The Opposition leaders also stated that all armed groups must be disarmed immediately and strict adherence to the ground rules of the Suspension of Operation pacts signed by Kuki militants should be ensured.
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