Cong demands PR recall, opposes Art 3 suspension
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, February 14 2025: Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader and former chief minister Okram Ibobi has demanded the immediate revocation of the President's Rule in Manipur, stating that the same disregards the people's mandate and democratic principles.

He urged the Central government to install a new leader instead of keep ing the state under Central control and called for concrete measures to resolve the ongoing crisis, restore safe inter-district travel, and ensure return of the displaced people to their ancestral homes.

Addressing the media at Congress Bhawan here on Friday, Ibobi criticised the BJP government for failure to address the crisis despite enjoying an absolute majority.

He remarked that Manipur has been facing an unprecedented crisis for over 21 months, something never before seen in independent India.

While acknowledging that President's Rule had been imposed during Congress rule in the past, he argued that the present situation is different.

Instead of bringing stability, President's Rule will only compound suffering of the people, particularly those in relief camps, he cautioned.

Ibobi also condemned the timing of chief minister N Biren's resignation, which came just a day before a scheduled assembly session, calling it a shocking move that showed "blatant disregard for public mandate and democratic principles".

While stating the official proclamation of President's Rule was made on Thursday, Ibobi claimed that Manipur had already been under an "undeclared" President's Rule for months and accused the BJP of misleading the public by issuing conflicting statements regarding Article 356.The former chief minister was particularly critical of the Centre's decision to bifurcate Manipur's law and order responsibilities, placing part of it under the Ministry of Home Affairs and called it an unprecedented move that revealed the Centre's discriminatory approach toward Manipur.

"This division of power - one half under the state government and the other under the Union Home minister - has never happened before.

This shows that the Centre considers Manipuris second-class citizens," he deplored.

The former chief minister also accused the Centre of repeatedly undermining the state government's authority by appointing a security advisor, removing the CM as the chairman of the Unified Command, and interfering in affairs of the state.

"Had this happened during Congress rule, there would have been a huge uproar," he remarked, adding that it was unfortunate to see the Manipur government functioning at the "whims of Delhi".

On the security front, Ibobi said that during the Congress rule, the government empowered security forces, leading to an improvement in law and order, albeit with some unavoidable incidents.

The government never instructed security forces to kill people, but the security forces might have taken certain actions to restore peace, he opined.

Recalling the June 18 uprising of 2000 under former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Ibobi remarked that BJP's governance had historically brought suffering to Manipur.

Expressing concern over the Centre's decision to adjourn the Parliament session on February 13, Ibobi suspected that the move was intended to avoid discussion on Manipur.

The sudden decision to cut short the session raises serious questions as if the government is trying to avoid questions from the Opposition, he stated.

Joining the media briefing, deputy CLP leader K Ranjit criticised the government for its failure to act decisively and blamed its inaction for prolonging the crisis.

He argued that timely intervention could have averted much of the suffering.

"Since the outbreak of violence on May 3, 2023, Manipur has not even been mentioned in key national addresses, including the President's speech in Parliament and the recent budget session," he noted.

The whole world is watching the crisis, yet the President's Address did not even acknowledge the state's suffering.

This is a failure of both the state and Central governments, he said.

Ranjit recalled that during the last budget session, Congress had moved a resolution in the assembly to enact a law granting legal protection to village volunteers who had taken up arms to defend their people.

However, the chief minister dismissed the proposal, claiming no such law was necessary.

Ranjit criticised the BJP government for frequently cutting short assembly sessions, leaving ho room for discussions on critical issues.

He revealed that he had again prepared a private member resolution to propose legal safeguards for village volunteers, but the sudden imposition of President's Rule prevented it from being tabled.

He also disclosed that Congress had planned to raise the issue of Kamalbabu's disappearance in the assembly, but the suspension of the House blocked that discussion as well.

Adding to the concerns, Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president K Meghachandra warned that one of the most alarming aspects of the proclamation of President's Rule was the suspension of the proviso to Article 3, which deals with the formation and reorganisation of states.

He pointed out that a similar move had preceded the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories.

This is something the people of Manipur must remain extremely alert about, he cautioned.

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