The Manipur Congress Committee has lodged allegations against Union Home Minister Amit Shah for allegedly fomenting communal discord in Manipur during his recent visit to Imphal.
While addressing an electoral gathering at Imphal’s Hapta Kangjeibung, Amit Shah raised the specter of the Meitei-Pangal, Naga-Kuki, and Kuki-Paite conflicts, potentially exacerbating existing tensions, as conveyed by MPCC’s operational leader Kh Devabrata speaking to media personnel at Congress Bhavan, Imphal.
The Union Home Minister, as per him, is an individual who made an appearance in Manipur during the nascent stages of the crisis but failed to honor his commitment.
He remarked that Amit Shah’s revival of past inter-communal disputes was inappropriate for a Union Home Minister.
While the BJP Government is often the instigator of crises and lacks the ability to resolve them, Congress has repeatedly brought stability to Manipur.
Devabrata highlighted that significant conflicts and crises plague Manipur whenever the BJP Government assumes power at the federal level, citing the events of June 18, 2001. He asserted that the crisis arising from the ceasefire agreement with NSCN-IM was resolved and tranquility restored in Manipur only after the Secular Progressive Front Government assumed control at the federal level.
With the BJP coming to power in Manipur in 2017, communal tensions have reignited in the state.
Devabrata further accused the NDA Government of appropriating credit for initiatives commenced by the previous UPA Government and deceiving the public.
“At today’s rally in Imphal, Amit Shah asserted that the NDA Government, for the betterment of Manipur and the Northeast, has commenced fencing activities along the Indo-Myanmar border.
“However, the truth is that it was the UPA Government in 2012-13 that actually sanctioned the fencing of a 10-kilometer stretch of the border,” Devabrata stated.
In addition to providing approval, a zero-line survey was conducted, and recognition certificates were issued for fence construction during the UPA Government, he added.
Despite encountering impediments related to land loss, the then Government proposed establishing a commission to address the issue, he elaborated.
Asserting that Union Home Minister Amit Shah, during the rally at Hapta Kangjeibung, labeled Congress as the “Tukde Tukde Gang,” Devabrata questioned whether the Congress party’s exposition of the Central Government’s and BJP’s inherent flaws and the mindset of their Ministerial cohort prompted such name-calling.
While Amit Shah claims to have implemented the ILP (Inner Line Permit) System in Manipur, there is actually no mechanism to identify and track individuals who have entered Manipur without the permit and exceeded the permitted period, Devabrata accused, lambasting the Union Home Minister for deceiving the public.
Former Minister Kh Ratankumar, present at the press briefing, remarked that the Union Home Minister was blaming Congress for their inability to resolve the crisis in Manipur.
He opined that Amit Shah’s scapegoating of Congress instead of addressing the crisis reflects his negligence of duty as the Union Home Minister.
The Lok Sabha elections in Manipur will be conducted in two phases.
The Inner Manipur Parliamentary Constituency and select segments of the Outer Manipur Parliamentary Constituency will cast their votes on April 19, while the remaining segments of the Outer Manipur Parliamentary Constituency will do so on April 26.
