Internal discord rife within BJP : Joy
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, August 04 2024: It is the discord and disharmony among the BJP MLAs and members which have prolonged the unrest in Manipur and allowed it to persist for over 14 months, claimed veteran politician Okram Joy.

Addressing the media at his residence at Kakwa today, O Joy, an ex-Minister, continued that convening the ongoing Assembly session is a positive move to discuss and deliberate on the situation in Manipur as people still don't know when there will be normalcy in the State.

He said that BJP MLA Paolienlal Haokip, a Kuki, proposing establishment of three Union Territories by disintegrating Manipur is not worth considering.

Joy, however, condemned the statement of Paolienlal Haokip.

Elaborating, Joy said that Manipur merged with India after the latter agreed to safeguard the territory, population and sovereignty of the erstwhile kingdom.

The veteran politician asserted that 10 Kuki MLAs - seven from BJP and three others who support the Government demanding bifurcation of Manipur is akin to demanding fragmentation of India.

Saying that the State Government, Speaker of the Manipur Legislative Assembly and the BJP have not taken up any action against the 10 Kuki MLAs who want to break apart Manipur till date, Joy said that the ongoing Assembly session would be scripted in the history of Manipur if the members of the House fail to take a resolution against the 10 Kuki MLAs.

The Speaker can take action against the 10 Kuki MLAs under Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business under Representation of the People Act, he said and added that it would be very wrong for the Speaker to defend the Kuki MLAs Joy further stated that the MLAs of the BJP and those who support the Government should not remain silent over the issue.

Claiming that the unrest in Manipur is a fallout of the infighting among the BJP members, the veteran politician asked why the BJP National and State presidents are still not taking any action against its seven MLAs who openly disregard the Indian Constitution.

There is also a discord among the MLAs of the ruling party and those who support the coalition Government in Manipur, he claimed and added that the responsibility to restore normalcy in Manipur largely lies with the BJP unit in Manipur and the Central Government.

The BJP, however, hasn't done anything to resolve the crisis in Manipur which has been going on since May 3 last year, he said.

For peace to be restored in Manipur, there should be harmony among the BJP members first, Joy advised.

He went on to state that Solicitor General Tushar Mehta tried to mislead the international community about the situation in Manipur during a recent meeting of the UNHRC.

Joy said that Tushar Mehta spoke of normalcy returning in Manipur during the meeting on account of school reopening and conducting the Lok Sabha election was condemnable.

He also spoke about the problems being faced in transporting essential commodities to Manipur.

Saying that transporters and people are still unable to commute along Imphal-Jiribam and Imphal-Dimapur roads as Central and the State Governments don't take up any measure to resolve the issue, Joy added that the Governments have also failed to secure the lives and properties of people.

People don't know what will happen to them the next moment as the tension between the warring communities still runs high, he said.

Meeteis still cannot go to Kangpokpi, Churachandpur, Moreh etc and one displaced person committed suicide recently, he said and questioned whether these are signs of normalcy, he asked.

He also asked if police firing tear gas shells at displaced people who only want to air their grievances is a sign of normalcy while accusing the State Government of submitting factually incorrect reports to the Central leadership all the time.

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