NEW DELHI, 30 Aug: The Congress on Friday wondered why Prime Minister Narendra Modi can’t be the peacemaker by visiting violence-hit Manipur when he is going “all over the world” trying to play that role.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh also asserted that Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh has “lost all credibility” and things cannot improve under him.
Ramesh’s remarks came in response to Singh’s interview to PTI in which the chief minister has promised to fully restore peace in the state in six months with the Centre’s help, and also ruled out stepping down, saying he has neither committed a crime nor spawned a scandal.
In his remarks, Singh said, “PM coming or not coming has been made an issue by people. The PM may not have come but he has sent his home minister. And PM has so often spoken about Manipur, even from Lal Qila on Independence Day… and whatever is being done here in terms of security, funding, etc, is under his leadership only. In a complex situation a PM coming was not necessary.”
Reacting to the remarks, Ramesh told PTI, “The people of Manipur want the prime minister to come to the state and the prime minister has not gone. It is an extraordinary situation. He has gone all over the world but he has not found (time) to go to Manipur even for a few hours. What the chief minister is saying about the PM is unacceptable; it is indefensible what he has done.”
Ramesh said that almost 16 months have gone by and there has been no peace, no harmony, no reconciliation, and no semblance of normalcy in Manipur.
“The Supreme Court actually called it a breakdown of constitutional machinery. So I don’t know which world the chief minister is living in,” Ramesh said.
He claimed that the chief minister has “lost all credibility.”
There have been revelations and audio recordings of what the chief minister has said, which needs to be investigated, Ramesh said.
“I don’t see on what strength the CM is claiming normalcy. This is absolutely contrary to the facts on the ground,” he said.
The Congress leader said that, 15 months after getting a huge majority in the Assembly elections, the state began burning and “it was made to blow up.”
“This is not accidental what has happened. The fact of the matter is that the prime minister has gone to Ukraine, the prime minister has gone to Russia, he has gone to Poland, he has gone all over the country, he has gone to other countries of the world but he has neither found the time nor the inclination to visit Manipur even for a few hours,” Ramesh said.
“He is the PM of the country and Manipur is an exceedingly important and strategic state of our country and this is the way he deals with Manipur,” he said.
Ramesh said that Modi has not met Singh and asked whether the chief minister can say that he has had a one-on-one meeting with the prime minister in New Delhi.
“Has the PM met the elected representatives of Manipur? He has not. The answer that the people of Manipur gave to all these bogus claims being made by the CM is the fact that in both Inner Manipur and Outer Manipur, the Congress has won and the BJP has lost (in the Lok Sabha polls) and they have lost by a good margin,” he said.
“I think the prime minister must go to Manipur. That is the most important requirement. The prime minister must go and begin the process of sending the healing touch, the process of reconciliation,” he said.
Ramesh said that it is not enough to speak for a few minutes in Parliament or outside, and the prime minister must visit the state.
“Modi has to show he means business; he has to reassure all communities of Manipur – the Meiteis, the Kukis, the Nagas and all the tribal communities,”he added. (PTI)