GUWAHATI, Nov 19: The Congress on Tuesday accused the BJP-led governments at the Centre and in Manipur of failing to curb the ongoing violence in that state and demanded the resignation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Led by the leader of the opposition in the Assam assembly Debabrata Saikia, the grand old party held a candle-light march in Dighalipukhuri here to protest the violence that left over 220 people dead in the neighbouring state since May last year.
“The central and Manipur governments are of the BJP but no concrete steps have been taken to solve the escalating violence. The state has been burning since last year but Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not seem to be concerned. He is currently on a foreign trip,” Saikia said.
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Senior Congress leader Abdul Khaleque, who was also at the forefront of the procession, said that the N Biren Singh-led BJP government in Manipur must be dismissed immediately as he has failed to control the violence and end the crisis.
The former MP also demanded the resignation of Union home minister Amit Shah for failing to check the violence in Manipur which has turned into a “killing field”.
Assam unit president of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Manoj Dhaowar also expressed concern over the ongoing violent situation in the neighbouring state which has been ‘burning for over one and a half years’.
“The central government has not given the matter the attention it deserves. Despite the fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s own party is in power, there has been no sincere effort from him to put out the flames in Manipur,” he said.
The Prime Minister is busy with foreign trips and it appears that he failed to recognise that Manipur is an integral part of India, Dhaowar claimed.
Union home minister Amit Shah visited the state only once during the violence but no effective measures were taken to curb the unrest, the AAP leader alleged.
Recently, mobs have attacked the residences of several ministers, legislators, and even the chief minister’s house. Innocent lives have been lost, and militant groups have been torturing women and children, he said.
“In this situation, we demand that the PM visit Manipur to oversee the efforts to restore peace and order,” Dhanowar said.
Over the past year and a half, the Prime Minister has travelled to many foreign countries and even advocated for an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, “but he has shown no concern for the war-like conditions prevailing in Manipur,” he added.
Ethnic violence between Imphal valley-based and the Kuki-Zo tribal groups in the hills have claimed the lives of over 220 people and rendered thousands homeless since May last year. In recent weeks, violence escalated in Jiribam, bordering Assam’s Cachar district. (PTI)
