Left MPs vow to raise Manipur issue in Parl
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, July 08 2023: While pointing out the ongoing violence in Ma nipur is a national issue and not solely for the state, the joint parliamentary team of CPI/CPI (M) assured to raise the conflict situation in the state in the Parliament.

Apart from affirming to highlight the ethnic vio-lence in the parliament, Rajya Sabha MP P Santosh Kumar expressed strong re-sentment that Prime Minis-ter Narendra Modi has time for foreign tour and Yoga but not even a single min-ute or words for Manipur in-spite of the turmoil af-fecting the people for more than two months.

While pledging to raise the voice and plight of the people of Manipur, the CPI MP told media persons at irabot Bhavan before leaving for New Delhi on Saturday that Manipur is passing through a difficult time but both state and central governments are unable to contain the violence thereby showcasing failure of the government.

Chipping in CPI (M) Rajya Sabha MP B Bhattacharya lamented that the Central government is not shoul-dering its mandated re- sponsibility but seems to be relishing I keeping the state on fire.

He also said that there is no sign of the government in taking steps to negotiate with communi-ty leaders so that displaced people could be return tc their respective homes.

ft the Central government is sincere, the PM would not remain silent on Manipur, Bhattacharya observed, adding that the prolonged silence of PM Modi clear-ly indicates negligence on part of the Centre.

Manipur being the part of India, it is bounden responsibility 01 the Prime Minister to con-tain the violence but PM Modi is remaining silent, he maintained.

As there is no enmity between the two communities at grassroots level and the peo-ple want peace it is evident that the problem due to at-tacks by terrorists, which the government of India should handle in an efficient manner, Bhattacharya stressed.

According to Bhattacharya, the joint Parliamentary team of CPI and CPI (M) came to help the government con-tain the violence and bring peace in Manipur.

However, it seems that there is trust deficit between the Meeteis and Kukis which the gov-ernment of India is feasting to realise the ultimate goal of divide and rule politics.

Moreover, people have no trust in the government led by CM Biren especially as there is no sign of resolving the present problem, he said.

The CPI (M) MP further said that deployment of huge Cen-tral forces could not contain the violence as confidence of the people on them is very low.

Accordingly, confidence building measures among CSOs is important to bring peace, he said adding that Manipur Governor had been apprised in this regard.

The press conference was also attended by CPI (M) lead-er and Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas and CPI Rajya Sabha MP Binoy Vishwam.

According to John Brit - tas, the peace process will bear fruit if there is trust and confidence among all the sections.

Further stating that the present government has lost its legitimacy, he demanded that CM N Biren should re-sign.

Brittas said, "During the all-party meeting held in Delhi, we said that Biren Singh is part of the problem.

So, how could he resolve the issue?" The Left MPs also voiced their concern about the US Ambassador's comments on the state.

"The proposal by the US is a new shift in the Manipur issue.

We know that wherever the US intervened in the name of sorting issues, they have complicated matters," CPI MP Binoy Viswam said.

The RIP governments at the Centre and in Manipur have paved a way for the US to play a game of politics, Viswam alleged.

Raising the issue of internet shutdown in the state since early May, he wondered how there can be any activity or progress without net service.

The delegation of CPI (M) and CPI MPs, who were on a three-day visit, also rec-ommended that the peace initiative in the state should be preceded by instilling trust and confidence among all sections of the people.

Mention may be made that the Left MPs visited relief camps and spoke to affected people in Churachandpur and Thoubal districts, besides the state capital Imphal.

They also called on Gover-nor Anusuiya Uikey and met representatives of various political parties on Friday evening.

Comment