Former Manipur Chief Minister and Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee president Okram Ibobi Singh today questioned the BJP-led government’s moral authority to remain in office amid recurring violence and civilian killings in the state.
Ibobi was speaking to the media after leading an INDIA bloc delegation in a meeting with Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh at Babupara, following the killing of three civilians and injuries to several others in firing by armed miscreants at Khongban Sunurok in Kangpokpi district near Nongshum in Imphal East district.
Questioning the government’s ability to protect civilians, Ibobi said ensuring the safety of people was its fundamental responsibility.
“How long can we tolerate this? Day by day, people are killing each other,” he said, referring to the continuing bloodshed involving the Naga, Kuki and Meitei communities.
He said the Congress and other INDIA bloc constituents could not remain silent over the government’s handling of the law-and-order situation. He questioned the failure to convene an all-political-party meeting despite repeated demands to discuss ways to address the crisis.
Ibobi said the INDIA bloc was prepared to urge the Centre to assist the state government if the situation was beyond its capacity to control.
He maintained that if the Centre was committed to ending the crisis, controlling violence and preventing armed groups from moving freely should not take more than a few days. He accused the Centre of remaining a silent spectator, creating the impression that it was allowing people in Manipur to kill one another and the state to descend further into crisis.
Questioning the Centre’s continued inaction, Ibobi asked whether Manipur and its people were being treated as part of India.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh, in a social media post, said he had held a cordial meeting with representatives of the INDIA bloc led by Ibobi, accompanied by Congress Legislature Party leader K. Meghachandra Singh, Lok Sabha MP Angomcha Bimol Akoijam, MLA Okram Surjakumar, Okram Joy, Veteran Politicians, RK Anand, former minister and leaders of other constituent parties.
According to the Chief Minister, the meeting reviewed the state’s overall security situation following the killing of three civilians at Nongshum, Imphal East. The delegation expressed deep concern over the incident and urged him to convene an all-political-party meeting in view of the prevailing situation.
Khemchand Singh said he had heard the representatives’ concerns and assured them that the matter would be looked into. He added that the meeting also discussed maintaining peace and making collective efforts to restore normalcy in the state.
The delegation included Ksh Shanta of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), K. Manoranjan of the Revolutionary Socialist Party, Kh Gyaneshwar of the All India Forward Bloc, Th. Inaocha of the All India Trinamool Congress, Sarat Salam of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), T. Deban of Shiv Sena, S. Iboyaima of the Nationalist Congress Party and L. Shyam Singh of Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), among others.
