New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday demanded President’s Rule in violence-hit Manipur saying both the state and the central governments were not working as per Constitution “We demand President’s Rule in Manipur. The state and the central governments are not working as per the Constitution. A President’s Rule would be more suitable towards the quick restoration of peace in the violence-hit state,” AICC in charge of Manipur Bhakta Charan Das said.
“I visited the northeastern state over the past few days. I spoke to our party leaders and the locals about the recent flare-up. The Meitis community has been demanding ST status for a long but there have been no flare-ups. Both the Meitis and the Tribes have lived peacefully in the state for decades. So, what went wrong now? It seems the recent violence was pre-planned,” he said.
According to Das, who returned from Manipur on Thursday, “Though the state and central governments were claiming normalcy in the troubled state, incidents of cross-firing and arson were still being reported in the Dolaithabi area,” said Das.
“I am surprised that there has been no tweet from the PM over the recent flare-up or from the Union home minister appealing for peace. The Congress party led a delegation to the Governor and showed him a house burning from a window. Our state leaders also attended an all-party meeting called by the state government. We are committed to contributing towards the earliest restoration of peace,” he said.
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The AICC in charge of Manipur charged that a BJP youth leader recently attended a rally organised by the Tribal Students in the Churachandpur area after which violence broke out. “Why did the BJP leader attend the Tribal Students rally? Who allowed him? Recently two militant groups of locals were formed. Their members moved around violence-hit areas on motorbikes and looted arms and ammunition from the police stations. The police watched them helplessly. The local youth were impressed by the actions of these groups moving around on motorbikes. Who allowed them to play with law and order? Is it normal to attack police stations,” said Das.
He further charged that a large number of arms including AK 47 guns (700) looted from the police stations have not been returned by the miscreants and that around 200 Churches got burnt during the recent violence. “What is interesting is that Meiti Christians were targeted this time,” said Das. The Congress leader further noted that the BJP had promised in 2022 to both the Meitis and the Tribals to form an Autonomous Trust and Tribal Council to look into their issues but did nothing after the elections so that relations between the Valley and the Hills people were cordial.
According to Das, “during the polls, I and Jairam Ramesh had told the Election Commission that militants were moving around the area with guns. The polls took place under an atmosphere of fear and fear is prevailing in the state now as well.” “The recent flare-up has proved that the BJP believes in a violent approach to policy making and does not believe in systematic, democratic processes as per the Constitution,” he added.
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