GUWAHATI: Assam Congress on Tuesday evening organised a candlelight march at Dighalipukhuri here, demanding the resignation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh for their “failure to resolve the ongoing conflict in Manipur.”
“We staged a candle march protest in Dighalipukhuri demanding resignation of the union home minister and the Manipur chief minister for their failure to resolve the ongoing conflict in Manipur,” former Rajya Sabha MP and senior Congress leader Ripun Bora said.
Bora also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for “paying more importance to foreign tours and not showing any seriousness” in defusing the situation in the violence-hit state.
Expressing grave concern, the Congress leader said that while the situation in that state has gone from bad to worse, the Prime Minister has not shown any seriousness to end the strife in the state, which has been burning for one and half years.”
“The Prime Minister has been able to get time to make multiple foreign trips and election visits to the Northeast states, but has not spared even a few hours to visit BJP-ruled Manipur where there is no law and order, no security of life and property of citizens. The situation in the state has become volatile owing to the clash between two communities, but our Prime Minister has not been able to spare a few hours to console the people in Manipur,” he said.
“This step-motherly attitude of the BJP government and the Prime Minister towards the people of Manipur is highly condemnable. I therefore demand that the Prime Minister must visit Manipur without further delay,” Bora said, while appealing to the Centre to be sincere in tackling the situation in Manipur.
Bora also criticised Assam chief minister and NEDA convenor Himanta Biswa Sarma, stating that “instead of making tall claims about issues in the Northeast as the NEDA chief, he should take initiatives to defuse the situation in Manipur.”
Meanwhile, a delegation of Assam Pradesh Congress Committee leaders and members on Tuesday evening held a candlelight vigil at Dighalipukhuri here, highlighting grave concern over the ongoing unrest in Manipur.
On the other hand, Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Debabrata Saikia, who also took part in the candlelight vigil, accused the BJP-led central government of not taking initiatives to address the situation in the BJP-led state, which has been on the boil for one and half months.
“The Congress has, time and again, been drawing the attention of the central government in regard to taking steps to control the situation in Manipur. A no-confidence motion was also moved in Parliament by Congress against the inaction of the government in Manipur, but nothing concrete was seen,” Saikia said.
“So, through this candlelight vigil, we draw the attention of the President to the situation in Manipur and that the Centre and the state government take steps to address the crisis so that things return to normal and peace prevails at the earliest,” he said.
Congress MP from Assam Gaurav Gogoi had on Monday, accused the BJP-led government at the Centre of underestimating the severity of the situation in Manipur and failing to understand the gravity of the ethnic conflict even after a year and half since the northeastern state has been affected by violent incidents.
In a video message, Gogoi blamed the central government for “adopting a step-motherly attitude towards Manipur, and refusing to act decisively to control the volatile situation” in the state.
Notably, Manipur has been on edge since May 2023 owing to ethnic strife between the Imphal Valley-based Meitei community and the hill-dwelling Kuki-Zo groups.
“It has been more than a year since the conflict in Manipur broke out, and still, Prime Minister Modi refuses to act decisively. There seems to be a step-motherly attitude in the corridors of power in New Delhi. They think that Manipur is a small state, and the conflict is an ordinary conflict between two communities. They simply do not have an understanding of the gravity of the situation,” the Congress leader said.
“We cannot fathom why the Prime Minister refuses to take stock of the situation in Manipur and prefers to stay abroad. With this attitude, Manipur will not return to peace. For us, that (peace) is most important. We want peace and harmony and life to be preserved in the state of Manipur,” he said.
Gogoi also took potshots at Union home minister Amit Shah, alleging that despite the latter chairing so many review meetings on the law-and-order situation, the ethnic crisis has prolonged and a solution to the problem still eludes the state.
“Clearly, the Union home minister, despite taking so many review meetings of the law-and-order situation, has failed,” he remarked.
Apart from the ethnic strife, the recent recovery of the bodies of civilians comprising women and children, has aggravated the situation, prompting reimposition of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in six police station areas of the state, including Jiribam.
Manipur Congress president Keisham Meghachandra also criticised the Prime Minister’s stance so far on the conflict. “The Prime Minister is still silent. He has never visited Manipur or spoken about the situation in the state since the conflict began,” the state Congress chief said.
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