NEW DELHI, May 3: The Congress on Saturday demanded fresh elections in Manipur and alleged the ground situation in the strife-torn state was far from normal despite the imposition of President’s rule.
Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters, the Congress’ Manipur in-charge Saptagiri Ulaka noted two years had passed since the violence first erupted.
“It has been one of the gravest humanitarian crises in India. People fear that this violence was manufactured and two years have now gone by,” he said.
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More than 260 people have been killed, 1,500 injured and over 70,000 displaced since ethnic violence broke out between the Meteis and the Kukis on May 3, 2023.
Congress MP Ulaka also trained his guns on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, claiming he visited 44 countries and participated in 250 events across the country since then but never spoke about Manipur.
“We have been demanding a discussion on Manipur but Modi ji did not break his silence. We had been demanding imposition of President’s rule to control the situation but it was only imposed after 20 months. The current situation on the ground is far from normal despite the imposition of President’s rule,” he said.
He added the Congress wanted the government to declare fresh elections so that a popular people’s government could be elected in Manipur. “The violence in the state is not ending.”
President’s rule was imposed in Manipur on February 13 and the assembly put under suspended animation, days after N Biren Singh resigned as chief minister. The Manipur Assembly has a tenure till 2027.
Ulaka, the MP from Koraput in Odisha, claimed the Centre imposed President’s rule only after the Congress announced plans to move a no-confidence motion in the assembly but Singh resigned as chief minister before it could be moved.
Describing the government’s attitude towards Manipur as callous, Ulaka said the ground reality had not changed.
The people of Manipur want the prime minister to visit the state, bring back peace, and give a human touch and return the displaced to their homes, he added.
He also claimed that the report of the Ajay Lamba-led Commission of Inquiry, set up by the government, had not been released or discussed in Parliament.
“The government is not interested in bringing peace in Manipur. We expect the prime minister to assure the citizens of Manipur on how it will return to normality,” he said.
He vowed that the Congress would continue to fight for the rights of Manipur till normality was returned and justice done.
“What is the priority of the prime minister? He should seek to bring peace to Manipur and break his silence and present a roadmap on bringing peace to the state,” he said.
The Congress’ Manipur unit chief Keisham Meghachandra Singh slammed the BJP as the “architect” of the violence and said the saffron party was not serious about ending it.
“There is a lack of proper use of the constitutional machinery and that is why the violence is continuing,” he said.
“We (people of Manipur) don’t have any trust left in the Narendra Modi government even after President’s rule. We demand fresh elections,” he added. “We believe if a Congress government comes to power in the state, we can bring peace.”
Singh also appealed to the people of Manipur to bring peace and said, “Force cannot bring peace and the BJP cannot bring peace.”
He alleged the BJP’s double-engine government could not protect lives in Manipur.
The double-engine government is unable to bring peace to Manipur and there is no plan to return the displaced people even after the imposition of President’s rule, he said.
“When the constitutional machinery has failed, we want to have a fresh mandate,” he added. (PTI)
