New Delhi: The Congress on Monday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to break his "silence" on the situation in Manipur and send a message of goodwill besides allowing an all-party delegation to visit the violence-hit state to help restore peace. The party also urged the prime minister to visit the northeastern state to listen to the "agony of the people there".
The Congress demanded that if Modi is unable to visit the border state, President Droupadi Murmu should make efforts to help bring peace and normalcy in Manipur. "The Congress party demands that the prime minister should break his silence and visit Manipur at the earliest to make all efforts to restore trust in the administration and bring normalcy in the state," Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh told reporters.
"The Congress demands that a national all-party delegation should be allowed to go to Manipur to visit all the affected areas and meet all stakeholders," he said at a press conference. Ramesh also asked if the prime minister can go to Balasore after the train accident, "why can't he visit the violence-hit state". "Why has the prime minister not said anything whatsoever about Manipur since the 100th episode of Mann ki Baat? What happened to 'Manipur ki Baat'?" he questioned.
He also sought to know why Union Home Minister Amit Shah's appeal for 15 days of peace on May 30 completely failed. Congress leader Mukul Wasnik said the situation in Manipur is agonising and at this time, the prime minister should visit the state to help wipe the tears of the affected people and listen to their agony. "Many bodies are still lying in mortuaries and we expect that the prime minister speak and make an appeal to the people of the state to help restore peace," he said.
Another Congress leader Bhakt Charan Das, who is also the AICC in-charge for Manipur, alleged the BJP government in Manipur is not honest in its efforts and that its approach was not democratic. "Their efforts are not sincere. At this juncture, the prime minister's visit will help. They are not adopting the method of a democratic appeal. They have resorted to violence approach," he said.
Das asked why not a team of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs or an all-party delegation be sent to Manipur and a democratic initiative taken up to help restore peace and normalcy there. "We want to appeal to the president that she should make efforts to help bring peace," he said, adding that instead of remaining silent, something must be done. "We want to appeal to the people of Manipur to take steps to help restore peace for the sake of the future of Manipur's children," he said.
Questioning Modi's 'silence' on Manipur, Ramesh asked, "When will he speak on Manipur ki Baat?" He said two weeks since the Union home minister went to Manipur on a three-day visit and announced a series of measures, the state continues to burn, and violence and arson continues in all peripheral areas where the two communities affected by the ethnic violence live.
Wasnik said there is cross-firing in multiple districts, national highways NH-2 and NH-37 are still blocked with a serious crisis of non-availability of essential commodities and the number of displaced people is more than 1 lakh with at least 50,000 people in 349 relief camps. The official death toll is more than 100, he said, adding that many people are still missing and their whereabouts are not known. A number of deceased are still in the mortuary of the government hospital and their bodies not handed over to their families.
"None of the actions taken by the state government or the Union government have inspired confidence in the people of Manipur. This is evident by the poor recovery of arms and ammunition despite a stern warning from the home minister," he said. At least 98 people have lost their lives and 310 more were injured in ethnic violence in Manipur that broke out a month ago. A total of 37,450 people are currently sheltered in 272 relief camps in the state. Clashes first broke out in Manipur on May 3 after a Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
