Ak Mirabai goes on the offensive against BJP
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, June 21 2023:
Ex-Minister and Congress leader Akoijam Mirabai has launched a scathing attack on the BJP in the Centre and the State and accused the party of compromising Manipur's integrity.
At a sit-in protest at Toubungkhok Mayai Leikai community hall, AK Mirabai said the BJP should clarify on the alleged 2017 poll deal the party had with Kuki underground outfits.
Asking whether the Bharatiya Janata Party had sold out Manipur to win elections, AK Mirabai said the report that has surfaced indicates that the BJP had some sort of a deal that compromises Manipur's integrity.
AK Mirabai was talking about an alleged 2019 letter written by the leader of one of the Kuki outfits to Union Home Minister Amit Shah claiming that Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma and Ram Madhav, the then BJP general secretary in-charge of North East, had taken help of the Kuki UGs to win the 2017 Assembly elections.
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The letter was attached along with an affidavit filed by SS Haokip, chairman of United Kuki Liberation Front (UKLF), one of the Kuki outfits under Suspension of Operation (SoO) in an NIA Court on June 8, 2023. SS Haokip is an accused in an arms missing case.
According to India Today NE, the letter claimed that the UKLF and another Kuki outfit, United People Front (UPF) got BJP candidates elected, as per an agreement with Ram Madhav and Himanta Biswa Sarma.
Notably, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma had yesterday refuted the allegation stating it was devoid of merit and a desperate attempt by an individual to save himself.
Talking about the allegation, AK Mirabai said the mention of the names of Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma and BJP leader Ram Madhav strongly indicates that the BJP had "indeed colluded" with the Kuki outfits to win elections at the expense of Manipur's integrity.
It is unfortunate that the Centre and the BJP led State Government has not done anything to restore peace.
The Prime Minister has not commented on the allegation yet.
Unit Home Minister Amit Shah, who visited Manipur, has gone silent now.
The BJP at the Centre and the State should clarify on the allegation, said AK Mirabai.
Several leaders of Congress and its alliance are in Delhi to meet the Prime Minister.
While a memorandum has been submitted to the PM, they have not been given an appointment to meet him, she said.
As the PM remains mute on the issue, questions have been raised from several quarters whether Manipur is still a part of India, AK Mirabai said.
If the Centre is deliberately not hearing the plight of the people of Manipur, then it should cede Manipur from India.
The people of the State are capable of defending Manipur's integrity on their own, she said.
Talking about the situation in the State, she said Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Education, RK Ranjan had recently said that the State's law and order has collapsed.
His statement has proved that the State Government has failed miserably, she said asking whether the BJP led State Government is still functioning.
To end violence, the Central security force should contain violence and control Kuki militants, she added.
The sit-in protest organised by the Toubungkhok Apunba Lup.