Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, September 07:
Piling on the accusation against Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil, the Working Committee of the Apunba Lup today said that they are ready to withdraw their present agitation if the Minister can give a single shred of evidence that people of other parts of the country also face the same kind of atrocities suffered by the people of Manipur at the hands of the security personnel.
In a hard hitting statement issued to the press today, the Lup said that the recent visit of the Home Minister was a total failure as the Minister himself did not come up with any proposal to end the deadlock.
It is such a pity that the Minister left refusing to see the real reason why the people have risen against the AFSPA.
That a Minister who did not know the real reason for the people's uprising and who was ignorant of the conduct of its security personnel was deputed to over see the situation does not reflect well on the image of the country, said the statement and added that Delhi should not live under the illusion that the people of Manipur will welcome Patil if he were to return again.
Going on the offensive against the Home Minister, the statement said that his remarks that not so many people have died, is ample proof that Shivraj Patil was here to encourage the security personnel to do as they please.
That a Home Minister of a country like India should harbour such thoughts is a tragedy for the whole country, it added.
Training its guns on the CM, the statement said that the charges of the CM that extortions still continue is nothing but an attempt to sideline the demand of the people and charged that it is the political class who have been siphoning off public money.
The CM did not discuss the issue with the Home Minister at all, charged the Lup and added that the visit of Patil was seen by the CM as an opportunity to line his pockets.