Cong decries unified command's take over
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, June 02 2023:
The announcement that the Unified Command headed by Security Adviser Kuldiep Singh would handle the State's law and order matters despite the presence of a democratically elected Government is both humiliating and denigrating to the State Government, remarked Congress party.
Speaking to the media at Congress Bhavan here today, CLP leader O Ibobi said that the Congress party strongly condemned the communal violence which broke out on May 3 and has so far claimed many precious lives and destroyed properties worth crores.
AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took very serious note of the State's situation.
Subsequently, a fact finding team of the AICC came to the State and made an assessment of the situation, Ibobi said.
Since the early days of the violence, the Congress party was demanding deployment of neutral security forces at all sensitive areas of the State.
Even as Rahul Gandhi made a plan to visit Manipur and talk with people of both sides, the Government did not give him permission to visit Manipur citing lack of security, Ibobi said.
Decrying that the Union Home Minister's visit to the State was too late, the CLP leader rued that many precious lives and valuable properties could have been saved had Amit Shah visited the State a little earlier.
If the violence seen today in Manipur happened in some big State of the country, New Delhi's reaction would have been quite different.
It seemed the Centre was least concerned with what is happening in the tiny State of Manipur, Ibobi said.
It appears that the Centre was treating the people of Manipur as second class citizens of India.
The Centre's arrogance is simply intolerable, he said.
Nonetheless, the Congress party welcomes the Government's announcement to give compensation of Rs 10 lakh each and a suitable job to the next of kin of the deceased victims, he continued.
But it is not clear whether the enquiry announced by the Union Home Minister should be done as an ordinary judicial enquiry or under the Commission of Enquiry Act 1952 .
The Centre would certainly come out with the terms and references of the enquiry, the CLP leader said.
He said that the people want to know the details of the six selected FIRs which would be investigated by the CBI.
Congress party could not attend the all-party meeting convened by the Union Home Minister at Imphal as the party was meeting the President of India at Delhi, he said.
There is already an unified command of security forces with the Chief Minister as the chairman.
But Union Home Minister Amit Shah created another unified command which would be headed by Security Advisor Kuldiep Singh, he pointed out before questioning how the two unified commands would function.
If the unified command headed by the Security Advisor must deal with the State's law and order despite the presence of a democratically elected Government, the Centre is making a mockery of the people's mandate, Ibobi decried.
He then appealed to all the people to forget and forgive, live together as one and collectively protect the integrity of Manipur.
MPCC president K Meghachandra who was also present at the present meet said that the present crisis is not between Meitei people and Kuki community but was engineered by armed Kuki militants who came from Myanmar.
He then questioned the Government's silence on the protracted highway blockade.
CWC Member Gaikhangam was also present at the press meet.
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