Imphal ‘advised’ to focus on restoring peace

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Oct 4 : All India Congress Committee (AICC)  Secretary Christopher Tilak who is also in-charge of Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim has urged the Government to focus on restoring peace in Manipur instead of analysing the causes of the crisis.
Speaking to media persons at Congress Bhavan, BT Road here today, Christopher Tilak said that the suffering of people in Manipur has reached the extreme limits.
He said that the Government must focus on restoring peace in the interest of future generations instead of analysing the cause of the crisis which erupted on May 3, 2023.
The 17 months old crisis  has adversely impacted the State’s economy and the people’s suffering has crossed the tolerable limits, he said.
If the present situation continues, the fate of future generations will be in serious jeopardy. The protracted crisis has also seriously impacted the agriculture sector which is the mainstay of the State’s economy and the primary avenue of employment, Christopher Tilak said.
The State’s academic activities were severely disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic from 2020 to 2022. Now the violent crisis has been depriving the students of regular, formal education, he said.
Even students who are studying outside the State are also facing serious problems as their families hit by financial crisis can no longer send money regularly, he said.
With movement of people inside the State severely restricted/curtailed, people living in interior areas have been facing severe difficulties when any of their family members have medical problems, he continued.      
Asking the Government how seriously it sees the current crisis and what tangible steps have been taken up to bring an end to the suffering of the people, the AICC Secretary went on to ask how long the Government will play politics and let the people languish in extreme misery.
Rather than taking up a single step to resolve the crisis, the Government has been diverting the real issue by making all kinds of implausible promises, he said.
There is a double-engine Government at the Centre and the State but both the engines are doing nothing for the people of Manipur, Christopher Tilak said.
As demonstrated by the results of the last Lok Sabha elections, the people of Manipur do not have any faith in BJP, he said.
The Congress party will continue to exert pressure on the relevant authorities to bring a solution to the Manipur crisis and restore peace in the State, he added.
CLP leader and former Chief Minister Okram Ibobi said that the people are disappointed as Manipuri language was left out when the Union Cabinet decided to elevate some languages to the status of classical language yesterday.
There were reports that the State Government recommended the Centre to put Manipuri language in the list of the country’s classical languages.
Moreover, Rajya Sabha MP Leisemba Sanajaoba lobbied hard both inside and outside the Parliament to get classical language status for Manipuri language, Ibobi said.
As such, people were quite hopeful that Manipuri language would be elevated to the status of a classical language, Ibobi said before asking the Centre to explain why Manipuri language was left out of the list of newly added classical languages.
Just like Assamese and Bengali, Manipuri too deserves to be elevated to the status of classical language, the former Chief Minister stated.
It appears that Manipuri language was left out because the Central Government does not see Manipur or Manipuri language with any seriousness, he said.
Manipuri language has its own alphabets and it is more than 3000 years old and it meets all the criteria to be classified as a classical language, Ibobi asserted.
CWC member Gaikhangam, former MPCC presidents M Okendro, Nameirakpam Loken, MPCC working president Kh Devabratta, former Ministers AK Mirabai and Dr Kh Ratankumar were also present at the press meet.