Rio's remarks on Ibobi flayed
Source: Hueiyen News Service / NNN

Imphal, February 17 2014: Manipur Government today condemned the recent remarks by Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio that Chief Minister O Ibobi was an enemy of the Nagas during his speech at the recent state level Nagas' seed sowing 'Lui-Ngai Ni' festival held in Tamenglong district.

Neiphiu Rio had also said Meiteis are not the enemies of the Nagas but neighbours.

Reacting to the speech by Rio, Manipur Government spokesperson and Education minister M Okendro accused the Nagaland Chief Minister of inciting hate among the various ethnic communities of Manipur.

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a press briefing on the Government-ATSUM talks here on Monday, Okendro further defended Manipur Chief Minister, saying Ibobi is a leader who does not want to compromise on the territorial integrity and, that he a man who loves all the communities with equal treatment.

He said people should not be misguided by such statements by Rio because the Nagaland Chief Minister knows nothing about Ibobi.

Rio was attending the seed sowing festival of Lui-Ngai Ni as chief guest at the Tamenglong headquarter on February 15 .

On the other hand, Okendro described the Manipur People's Party (MPP) and the state BJP unit as immature political parties that have misinterpreted a recent manipulated interview given by Ibobi to a news agency.

He said the two parties have levelled allegations against the Chief Minister without discussing the complete version given by him to the ANI news agency during the interview.

The BJP and MPP were quoting a report uploaded on internet by several news websites that the Chief Minister during an interview with ANI had stated that the recent attacks on the people of North East in Delhi was not a serious crime, but a family matter.

He said the state Government has taken strong exception of the attempt to malign the Chief Minister by uploading the manipulated and truncated segment of the interview given to ANI.

Such a malicious act of uploading a distorted version is to mislead the people with a vested interest to create disharmony among the people, Okendro said.

Ibobi was visiting the victim of sexual assault, a minor girl from Manipur, at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi on February 10.Okendro said Ibobi was the lone Chief Minister from the region to visit the national capital to oversee the recent alleged racial attacks on the people of NE.

He had also met the Union Home Minister registering his strong protest against the recent incidents of violence, sexual assault, and molestation against the people of NE, Okendro said, adding the Chief Minister had also handed a letter to the Home Minister seeking stringent action against the culprits.

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