Khundrakpam AC MLA castigates silence of PM
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, September 29 2023:
In light of the protracted violence that has raged on for almost five months now, the emerging belief among the student community that guns are more important than pens does not bode well for the State, said Khundrakpam Assembly Constituency MLA Thokchom Lokeshwar Singh.
The former Speaker of the Manipur Legislative Assembly made the remark during a press conference held at his residential quarter at Babupara in Imphal yesterday.
Expressing displeasure over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence in light of the brutal killing of two Meitei students, Thokchom Lokeshwar said that in stark contrast, many prominent leaders including the Prime Minister had rushed to condemn the horrific viral video case.
Further decrying the silence of the BJP in this connection, he questioned why Kuki organisations have not stepped forward to condemn the heartless act.
"Why hasn't the lone woman minister from the BJP led State Government, Nemcha Kipgen, said a single word about the killings? As a mother and a female minister, she has a moral obligation to condemn the sadistic killing of the two tender-aged young students.
This depicts her lack of empathy for the victims", said MLA Lokeshwar.
He also expressed suspicion that the cold-blooded murder must have been committed by illegal Kuki narco terrorists from beyond and not by Manipuri Kukis.
Maintaining that usually State cases investigated by the CBI have not been successfully resolved, he opined that the case should have been handed over to the NIA instead.
Once in Manipur, the efficacy of the CBI seems to diminish, he said.
The MLA also touched upon the issue of use of excessive force by security personnel on students staging democratic protests demanding justice for the two slain young students.
Pointing out the State Government's failure to use security forces to flush out Kuki militants launching attacks on innocent Meitei civilians, he said that the Chief Minister is responsible for the violence inflicted upon the student community by the security forces.
The MLA then went on to urge the State machinery to guide the innocent protesting students properly to prevent the occurrence of any unfortunate incidents.
The prevalent saying among students nowadays that guns are more important than pens now is not a good thing for Manipur.
If the clashes between the students and security forces as well as the violence continues, Manipur society will suffer dark consequences, he said.
The former Speaker has also urged Chief Minister N Biren Singh to seek an appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and called upon the ruling and Opposition parties to unite under the idea of "one voice, one resolution" to collectively put pressure on the Prime Minister to resolve the conflict.
Thus, he appealed to the ruling party to include the names of the Congress party MLAs while seeking an appointment with the Prime Minister.
"Let's go to Delhi together and meet with the Prime Minister to hash out an amicable solution for the crisis", he said.
Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee working president Khumanthem Debabrata was also present at the press briefing.
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