MPCC asks Rijiju to withdraw statement
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, March 08 2024:
Reacting to statements made by Union Minister Kiren Rijiju to a news agency on Thursday, MPCC president K Meghachandra has asked the Union Minister to withdraw his alleged baseless statement.
In an interview to the PTI, Kiren Rijiju reportedly stated that the Manipur crisis stemmed from an order passed by the High Court of Manipur which allegedly directed the Government of Manipur to grant ST status to Meitei, according to the MPCC president.
Speaking to media persons at Congress Bhavan here today, Meghachandra decried that many of the statements made by Kiren Rijiju were baseless.
His statements were nothing short of rubbing salt to the wound, Meghachandra said.
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The State Government has already admitted that intelligence failure and security lapses were responsible for the violent crisis.
The crisis has been raging for 10 months on account of the abject failure on the part of both the Central and State Governments to take up necessary measures in time.
The State Government and the Central Government must be held accountable for the crisis, the MPCC president said.
Instead of coordinating with each other and working sincerely to resolve the crisis, the State Government and the Central Government have been trying to blame the people, Meghachandra said.
He then recalled External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's assertion that illegal immigrants ignited the Manipur crisis and the porous Indo-Myanmar border contributed to the crisis.
Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh too stated that extensive poppy cultivation led to the Manipur crisis.
He even gave assurance to destroy poppy plantations with the help of armed forces, he said.
However, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Kiren Rijiju have been trying to deflect the Manipuri crisis by claiming the High Court's order led to the crisis, he decried.
If the High Court's order on the issue of granting ST status to Meitei was responsible for the Manipur crisis, why did the Tribal Solidarity March of May 3, 2023 turn violent only in Churachandpur, Kangpokpi and Moreh while it was completely peaceful in Senapati, Ukhrul and all other districts, Meghachandra asked.
The Manipur crisis can be assumed to have started from February 28, 2023 when a mob vandalised an open gym at Churachandpur which was supposed to be inaugurated by the Chief Minister, he asserted.
The crisis has been raging for over 10 months because of the Government's failures and lapses, he said.