New Delhi: The Congress Friday demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi call an all-party meeting on the Manipur crises — a development that comes after its former president Rahul Gandhi demanded that a delegation be sent to the state.
Taking to Twitter, MP and All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal said that such a meeting must be called immediately as the “country is demanding answers”.
“Manipur is burning for the last 40 days and the conflict is spiralling out of control. There is no semblance of rule of law and those in power are themselves spearheading massacres and helping militants with arms and ammunition,” Venugopal said in a long tweet.
He further said: “The PM has maintained a stone-cold silence, and his government has taken no concrete action so far. Why is the Union government allowing this to continue? Who is accountable for this disastrous situation? The PM must immediately call for an all-party meeting because the country is demanding answers. Will he finally speak up after a Union Minister’s residence has been attacked?”
Manipur is burning for the last 40 days and the conflict is spiralling out of control. There is no semblance of rule of law and those in power are themselves spearheading massacres and helping militants with arms and ammunition.
The PM has maintained a stone-cold silence, and…
— K C Venugopal (@kcvenugopalmp) June 16, 2023
The development comes after a rampaging mob stormed and torched the home of Union minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader R.K.Ranjan Singh in Imphal Thursday night.
The minister, who was away at the time of the incident, told reporters earlier Friday: “I am shocked. The law and order situation in Manipur has totally failed”.
Violence in the northeastern state — which first broke out 3 May after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was taken out by a student body to oppose the demand for inclusion of non-tribal Meiteis in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category — has claimed over a hundred lives and left around a thousand people injured.
Among those wounded is Vungzagin Valte, a three-time BJP MLA who was almost lynched by a mob last month while returning from a meeting with Chief Minister N.Biren Singh. He escaped with grievous injuries and is still believed to be critical.
Manipur has a BJP-led government.
In a tweet Thursday, Gandhi attributed the violence to “BJP’s politics of hatred” that has “burnt Manipur for over 40 days leaving more than a hundred people dead” and demanded an all-party delegation to be sent to the state.
“The PM has failed India and is completely silent,” Gandhi said in a tweet Thursday. “An all-party delegation must be sent to the state to end this cycle of violence & restore peace. Let’s shut this ‘Nafrat ka Bazaar’ and open a ‘Mohabbat ki Dukaan’ in every heart in Manipur.”
It’s significant to note that during his visit to the state earlier this month, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had announced a probe committee to be headed by a retired judge to investigate the violence.
Also Read: Manipur is burning because of North Block’s legendary ignorance of the Northeast
‘PM too busy preparing for US visit’
The Congress has consistently been attacking PM Modi and the BJP government for “their silence” over the violence. On 18 May — a fortnight after violence first broke out — the party announced it was sending a “fact-finding” to the state.
A Congress delegation led by its president Mallikarjun Kharge also met President of India Droupadi Murmu late last month to present to her a 12-point memorandum with its suggestions to help restore peace in Manipur.
The Congress has been accusing the ruling Biren Singh government of abetting valley-based organisations Arambai Tenggol and Meitei Leepun in Manipur, both of which it claims are “spreading fear and terror” in the state.
Earlier Friday, Jairam Ramesh, the AICC general secretary in charge of communications, claimed Prime Minister Modi was “too busy” preparing for his US visit to talk about Manipur.
“Here is a Union Minister from Manipur lamenting the prevailing situation in his state. But the PM is still silent, too busy preparing for his visit to the US while Manipur continues to burn,” Ramesh had said in his tweet.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
Also Read: Manipur violence shows death of civil society. One ethnic group’s autonomy isn’t the solution