Left parties question present status of CM
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, July 03 2023: People want a Chief Minister who can head the Unified Command and be Chairman of the Peace Committee, not someone who has been stripped of all power, said former secretary of Communist Party of India, Manipur State Council L Sotinkumar.

Left parties viz All India Forward Bloc (AIFB), Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) observed National Solidarity Day on Peace in Manipur at Irabot Bhavan, today.

The programme was attended by CPI, Manipur State Council secretary L Thoiren, CPI (M), Manipur State Council secretary Ksh Santa, RSP, Manipur secretary Manoranjan, former secretary of CPI-MSC L Sotinkumar and All Manipur Nupi Marup (AMNP) president T Sakhi Devi among others.

Left parties question present status of CM

Speaking at the function, L Sotinkumar continued that the violence in Manipur could have been stopped in two days had the Manipur Government intervened and taken up appropriate actions timely.

Claiming that the conduct of the Government led to the escalation of the violence instead of dousing the flame, Sotinkumar continued that all issues have to be solved through negotiation but the incumbent Government is yet to bring the leaders of parties in conflict to the negotiating table.

Even though the chain of violence in Manipur has claimed over 130 lives and rendered thousands of people homeless the Prime Minister is still silent, he rued.

It is the responsibility of the Parliament and Chief Ministers of all the States to restore peace and normalcy in Manipur which has been in violence for two months, the Left leader continued.

Asking why the Centre is still not taking stern action against the well armed people from foreign countries and Kuki militants under Suspension of Operation (SoO) pact who openly target Meeteis and demand Kuki homeland and separate administration, Sotinkumar maintained that the silence of the Prime Minister and the inaction of the Centre is questionable.

He then urged the Government to immediately abrogate the SoO pact and drive away the foreign militants to restore peace and normalcy in the State.

Accusing the Central Government of not giving an explicit order to the security forces to deal with the militants who are hostile towards civilians, Sotinkumar claimed that the Centre has also removed all power from the Chief Minister.

The Chief Minister is completely useless as he hasn't been given the responsibility to supervise the Unified Command and Peace Committee and couldn't protect the lives and properties of civilians, Sotinkumar alleged.

People want a Chief Minister who can head the Unified Command and the Peace Committee, he reiterated and claimed that the incumbent Chief Minister is completely useless as he has been stripped of all power.

Ksh Santa, on the other hand, said that the violence taking place in Manipur is a National issue.

Saying that BJP is a party which doesn't take suggestions nor doesn't want to admit its flaws, Santa claimed that the conduct of the saffron is purely tyranny.

They (BJP) have the audacity to claim that peace is returning in Manipur when there is no respite in gun violence mostly in the foothills and remote areas of the valley district, Santa added.

Minister Susindro tearing the resignation letter of Chief Minister N Biren Singh and the Chief Minister allegedly taking sides amid the violence instead of finding solutions is unacceptable, he added.

He (the Chief Minister) has proven his incompetence of being a leader of the State by visiting the family members of people killed in firing of a particular community instead of remaining neutral, Santa added.

Even within the BJP, there is a stark difference between the leadership of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the incumbent Narendra Modi, Santa noted and added that most of the leaders of the present BJP Government are incompetent, illiterate and spineless.