New Delhi: On the second day of their visit to Manipur, 21 MPs from 16 opposition parties met the state governor in Imphal Sunday and asked her to apprise the Union government of the “complete breakdown of law and order in Manipur for the last 89 days so as to enable them to intervene in the precarious situation in Manipur to restore peace and normalcy.”
In their memorandum to Governor Anusuiya Uikey, the MPs from the INDIA alliance of opposition parties said, “Silence of the Hon’ble Prime Minister shows his brazen indifference to the violence in Manipur.” The Congress has shared the memorandum on its Twitter handle.
Lambasting the “failure of both the central and state governments to protect the lives and properties”, it said, “From the reports of incessant firing and arson of houses in the last few days, it is established beyond doubt that the state machineries have completely failed to control the situation for the last almost three months.”
The memorandum added that in a bid to do an “on the spot assessment of the situation”, parliamentarians — including Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Gaurav Gogoi from the Congress, JD(U)’s Rajiv Ranjan Singh, RJD’s Manoj Jha, DMK’s Kanimozhi, RLD’s Jayant Chaudhary, Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Arvind Sawant, and AAP’s Sushil Gupta — had visited relief camps at Churachandpur, Moirang and Imphal in Manipur.
It further said, “The condition in the relief camps is pathetic, to say the least. Special care needs to be taken for the kids on a priority basis. Students from different streams are facing an uncertain future, which has to be the priority of the state and the Union governments. The continued internet ban for the last three months is aiding to the unsubstantiated rumours.”
The memorandum requested the governor to “restore peace and harmony” by taking all effective measures, “where justice should be the cornerstone”.
After the meeting, addressing the media in Imphal, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said the governor had suggested that an all-party delegation — with members from both the Opposition and the ruling party — visit Manipur and talk to leaders of all communities “to resolve the sense of distrust among the people”.
मणिपुर की राज्यपाल महोदया जी को INDIA के 21 सदस्यों ने ज्ञापन सौंपा है।
हमने मणिपुर में अपने दो दिनों के अनुभव उनके साथ साझा किए, जिस पर उन्होंने भी सहमति जताई है।
उन्होंने कहा कि आप सभी समुदाय के नेताओं से बात कीजिए और समस्या का समाधान निकालिए।
: @adhirrcinc जी pic.twitter.com/TXqTCO4atY
— Congress (@INCIndia) July 30, 2023
So far, more than 150 people have been killed, 300 injured and more than 40,000 displaced since the ethnic clashes broke out between members of the Meitei and Kuki communities early in May. The violence — which spread to both hill and valley districts — has led to Kukis raising the demand for their own separate administration within India.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
Also read: Manipur violence shows death of civil society. One ethnic group’s autonomy isn’t the solution