Charenamei cries foul against UNC's decision
Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, June 26 2014:
Responding to UNC's boycott call on him over his alleged anti-Naga activities, Mani Charenamei, Ex-MP from Outer Manipur Parliamentary Constituency and
Independent Candidate during the last Lok Sabha Election stated that allegations of the UNC against him is baseless.
In a statement to the press today, the Ex MP termed the UNC resolution as containing misleading information and malicious thoughts to ruin his political career.
Charenamei said that he publicly declared his stand to contest the 16th Lok Sabha election as an Independent candidate on 5th October 2013 after various consultations since May 2013 .
Claiming that he had consulted some prominent leaders who are engaged in Peace Talks, leaders of various tribal communities, MLAs, elders etc.
for peaceful conduct of the election, Mani Charenamei said, 'With the support of most of the leaders, I took decision to fight the election as an Independent candidate as it is the only platform where all parties and communities can unite for the common cause' .
He recalled that he consulted the Manipur state unit NPF President as many as five times, with NPF leaders Manipur In-charge (Central) for two times, with the NPF President on 13th Jan.
2014, with the Search Committee members several times and UNC executives two times and with various Tribal Presidents two to three times at their respective places.
During these consultations, he suggested the concerned leaders and organisations to support the independent candidate instead of fielding NPF candidate as it was risky to contest election depending on the votes of a single community, Charenamei said.
But, "Instead of appreciating my sincere efforts, NPF and its workers were actively involved in spreading false propaganda that I have been sponsored by the INC party, that I have already withdrawn from contesting, that I am Anti Naga only to ruin my political career", he asserted.
'To everybody's surprise UNC came out with a decision to support NPF candidate only on 19th March 2014 without carrying out proper assessment about the desire and wish of the Naga public', he maintained.
Reacting to the accusation of UNC that his contest in the Lok Sabha election had caused widespread confusion among the people and terming it as anti Naga activities, Mani said, "As a person who took active part in the tripartite talk on Alternative Arrangement, I could never question the legality of the Naga peoples' demand for Alternative Arrangement and I even made the on-going Peace Talk as number 1 priority of my manifesto" .
He said the social boycott announced against him while sparing other prominent Naga candidates by the UNC is a bias decision and is aimed at tarnishing his image.
Admitting that he was the one who secured the least Naga votes among the Naga candidates, the Ex-MP recounted the open vote sharing between INC and NPF in some polling stations.
He went on to say that NPF and its volunteers leveled baseless and unfounded allegations against him that he had been paid a lot of money to contest against the NPF candidate by the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister of Manipur.
Asserting that the defeat of NPF is not the defeat of the Naga Movement, Mani charged the defeat of NPF is attributed to the wrong policy decision taken by UNC and NPF leadership.
It may be recalled that the UNC pronounced a social boycott on Mani Charenamei in view of his anti-Naga activities in the Presidential Council held on 19th March last.
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