‘If it had happened elsewhere, it would have been resolved’

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Dec 31: CLP leader and former Chief Minister Okram Ibobi has categorically stated that the protracted crisis besieging Manipur for almost 20 months would have been resolved a long time back had it happened in big States like UP, Haryana or Gujarat.
Speaking to media persons at Congress Bhavan, BT Road here today, Ibobi asserted that India being a democratic country, the State Assembly is the appropriate forum for a thorough deliberation on the protracted crisis.
But the Congress party’s repeated appeals to summon a State Assembly session has gone unheeded and 2024 will go away without the State Assembly holding its winter session, Ibobi decried.
The protracted violence and the State’s law and order problems cannot be resolved through informal talks or chatting at local tea hotels, he said.
With the crisis now almost 20 months old, the State has been living under a highly restive atmosphere for all these months. Although the Congress party has just five MLAs, the party has been giving valuable suggestions to the Government to resolve the crisis without any intention to take political advantage. But the Government did not bother to put any single suggestion into practice, Ibobi said.
“Responding to my request to summon an Assembly session to deliberate on the protracted crisis  and explore a solution, Law and Legislative Affairs Minister Th Basantakumar stated that CLP leader O Ibobi needs to read the Indian Constitution more. Yet I don’t feel offended”, he said.
All major issues including wars are discussed at Parliaments/Assemblies across the world. As per rules, Manipur State Assembly can hold three sessions in a calendar year and the State Assembly is the most appropriate forum to discuss the crisis but the State Government is deadly opposed to holding any Assembly session, Ibobi said.
“We don’t understand why the State Government is deadly opposed to discussing the State’s burning issue in the Assembly”, he added.
Earlier too, the State Assembly session was held only for a few minutes instead of deliberating the protracted crisis thoroughly. The particular session was unprecedented in the history of Manipur, the former Chief Minister remarked.
As the State Assembly has been already prorogued, it is the Governor who must summon the State Assembly session. As such, Congress party has submitted a memorandum to the Governor to summon a State Assembly session. Similar memoranda were submitted to the Chief Minister and the Speaker too, he said.
Protection of citizens’ lives and properties is the Constitutional responsibility of the Government. However, as the incumbent Government has failed miserably to protect lives and properties of citizens, people have started questioning if the elected representatives are serving their purpose.
If the aggrieved people launch a strong movement demanding resignation of elected representatives, security forces will not be able to contain such a movement, Ibobi warned before adding that his statement should not be seen as putting oil on fire.
There are BJP Governments both in the State and the Centre. BJP may lead all the MLAs including the Congress MLAs to New Delhi and initiate a joint meeting with the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister so as to bring an end to the protracted crisis, Ibobi said.
If the ruling BJP MLAs do not feel at ease to raise certain points directly to the Prime Minister, the Opposition Congress MLAs are ready to take this onus, he said.
Pointing out that the State Government decided to hand over the case of Laishram Kamalbabu to the CBI only on December 30, 2024 after he disappeared inside Leimakhong military headquarters on November 25, 2024, Ibobi said he was at a loss to describe the State’s prevailing law and order situation.
Had the security forces protected vulnerable people at the beginning of the violent crisis, the crisis would not have lingered on for so long, he said.
Had the security forces properly protected minority Meiteis settled at Moreh and Churachandpur and Kukis living in Imphal, dialogues would have been possible not long after the crisis broke out and the unwanted incidents would have come to an end, the CLP leader said.
Evacuation of Meiteis from Moreh and Churachandpur to Imphal, and Kukis from Imphal to hills turned out to be only abetting the agenda of fragmenting Manipur, Ibobi said.
The Manipur crisis has been lingering for too long. Had it happened in mainland Indian States like UP, Haryana, Gujarat etc, it would have been resolved a long time back, he asserted.
He went on to question if the Indian leaders no longer see the people of Manipur as citizens of the country.
MPCC president K Meghachandra who was also present at the press meet prayed that the new year 2025 may free all the people from all kinds of misery and bring prosperity  to one and all.
Deputy CLP leader K Ranjit and MLA Th Lokeshwar were also present at the press meet.