Convene Parliament to discuss foreign hand issue : Oppn bloc
BJP urged to do something positive
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, October 27 2023: Raising the ante to restore normalcy in Manipur, the bloc of 10 political parties has asked the Centre to call another session of the Parliament if there indeed is foreign hands in keeping the State on the boil for almost half a year now.

The Central Government needs to convene a Parliament session if Myanmar and Bangladesh have a role in Manipur violence and take a collective decision to fight the foreign aggression, said former secretary of CPI, Manipur State Council Laishram Sotinkumar.

He made the remark during a press conference organised by the 10 political parties viz AAP, AIFB, AITC, CPI, CPI (M), INC, JDU, NCP, RSP, SS (UBT) at Manipur Press Club today.

Convene Parliament to discuss foreign hand issue : Oppn bloc

Sotinkumar continued that the BJP Government at the Centre and the State acting all innocent and putting the entire blame for the crisis in Manipur on the Opposition parties won't bring any solution.

Saying that there were too many tell tale signs ahead of the May 3 incident, he reminded that a particular open gym which was to be inaugurated by the Chief Minister at Churachandpur was vandalised by a mob on April 28 .

The Government didn't take up any security measures even though violence was looming large and it indicates serious lapses on the part of the Government and the Intelligence team, Sotinkumar added.

Many Meetei villages at Churachandpur, Kangpokpi, Moreh, Motbung, Khundrakpam, Sugnu and Lamlai have been razed to the ground, displacing thousands of people, he reminded while stating that the crisis in Manipur is unprecedented.

It is very unfortunate that the BJP State unit president A Sharda Devi still doesn't want to admit that the 10 Kuki MLAs who demand separate administration for their people include seven from the BJP, the Left leader ridiculed.

BJP has been levelling different charges against the Opposition for the violence in Manipur, he said.

Claiming that the people still can't move freely along the National Highways, he asked where have all the companies of Central security forces gone which were sent to douse the flame in the State.

Well off families can go to Guwahati or other cities for their work, study or other purposes at ease but the same is unaffordable to the poor families, he said and urged the Government to take up adequate security measures along National Highway stretches in the interest of the poor section of people.

Sotinkumar also stated that Manipur police also can't move ahead of Kondong Lairembi due to protests taken out against deployment of State forces at the border town Moreh.

The Parliament is silent, the State Assembly is silent and the Cabinet meeting held at Ukhrul on October 18 didn't take any resolution to end the ongoing conflict, the Left leader asserted and accused the Government of trying to divert the issue by only talking big at functions.

He asked the Centre to arrange a room for political dialogue to take place and possibly work out a solution.

Sotinkumar also asked the Government to take action against the Kuki Ministers and MLAs as they haven't attended office and Cabinet meetings since the violence broke out.

Secretary of CPI (M), Manipur State Council Kshetrimayum Santa said that Sharda Devi rebuking the Congress party over some Gram Panchayats from Imphal West merging with Kangpoki is unfortunate.

Saying that Kangpokpi is an unreserved area and a part of Manipur, he added that the statement of the BJP State unit president can cause a sharp divide between the hills and valley people.

Santa also said that Sharda unleashing her anger on a media person recently for a particular query was unfortunate and the same is a blot on the political history of Manipur.

If none of the BJP MLAs had demanded Separate Administration then why is the party not taking any action against its seven MLAs which include two Ministers, he asked and reminded that the memorandum of the 10 Kuki MLAs with their signatures demanding Separate Administration is out in the public domain till today.