NEW DELHI, 3 May: The Congress on Saturday demanded fresh elections in Manipur and alleged that the ground situation in the strife-torn state is 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 that two years have 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.
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 3 May, 2023.
Congress MP Ulaka also trained his guns on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, claiming that 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 wants 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 13 February and the assembly put under suspended animation, days after N Biren Singh resigned as chief minister.
The Manipur Assembly has a tenure till 2027.
He also claimed that the report of the Ajay Lamba-led Commission of Inquiry, set up by the government, has 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 is returned and justice done.
The Congress’ Manipur unit chief Keisham Meghachandra Singh slammed the BJP as the “architect” of the violence and said that the saffron party was not serious about ending it.
“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.”
Protests by Kuki-Zo, Meitei groups mark 2 years of Manipur violence
Members of the Kuki-Zo and Meitei communities held separate demonstrations at the Jantar Mantar here on Saturday to mark the completion of two years since ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on 3 May, 2023.
Dressed in black, the Kuki-Zo protesters mourned the loss of those killed in the violence in the northeastern state and reiterated their demand for a separate union territory for their community.
The protest was organised by the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) and the Kuki-Zo Women’s Forum, Delhi (KZWFD).
The protesters raised their demands, including the creation of a separate administrative setup for the Kuki-Zo people due to their concerns about safety, displacement and lack of justice.
Meanwhile, the Meitei protesters, dressed in white, gathered under the banner of the Delhi Meitei Coordinating Committee.
They demanded justice, rehabilitation and a safe return of all internally-displaced persons to their original homes.
Their demands included ending cross-border terrorism, withdrawal of support to armed groups under the suspension of operations agreement and the removal of buffer zones dividing communities.
More than 220 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in the violence between the Imphal valley-based Meiteis and adjoining hills-based Kuki-Zo groups in Manipur since May 2023.(PTI)
