Manipur violence a result of BJP’s wrong policies: MPCC

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Jan 14: Flatly rejecting Works Minister Govindas Konthoujam’s assertion that Congress party has been scheming to perpetuate the Manipur crisis, the Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) has claimed that the protracted violent crisis seen in Manipur is a result of the BJP Government’s wrong policies including foreign policy.
Speaking to media persons at Congress Bhavan, BT Road here today, MPCC vice-president and chief spokesman Hareshwar Goswami slammed the statement made by Govindas at a Gaan Ngai function held at Chinikon Kabui village as baseless.
At Chinikon village, the Works Minister reportedly stated that the Congress party has been working to perpetuate the Manipur crisis.
Govindas Konthoujam was a key member of Congress party for a very long time and he served as a Minister of the Congress Government several times.
Although he even held the post of MPCC president, he defected to BJP proving that he is a self-seeking man, Hareshwar said.
On May 6, 2023, CLP leader O Ibobi called Chief Minister N Biren over phone and asked for a thorough discussion of the violent conflict which erupted on May 3 before it escalated.  
The Chief Minister convened a meeting on the same day at 2 pm at the CM Secretariat and the meeting deliberated on the crisis, the MPCC vice-president said.
Since the initial days of the violent crisis, the Congress party has been giving suggestions to the Government to contain and resolve the crisis but the State Government did not pay any heed, he said.
Whereas the Congress party has been demanding a thorough deliberation on the crisis in the State Assembly, the BJP Government does not want to discuss the issue on the floor of the House, he continued.
The Congress party sought an appointment with the Prime Minister to discuss the crisis but the BJP Government did not allow the Congress delegation to meet the Prime Minister, Hareshwar Goswami said.
Nonetheless, the Congress party called on Governors and submitted memorandums seeking an early solution to the crisis. Even today, the Congress party is open to any joint initiative with the BJP Government toward restoring peace and normalcy in the State, he said.
The BJP Government has written a dark chapter in the     history of Manipur. Instead of going for Ningol Chakkouba with all the fineries, many women clad in  black attires fasted on the day of Ningol Chakkouba. This was unprecedented in the history of Manipur, he said.
With buffer zones now dividing the hills and the valley, Manipur has been virtually bifurcated. Many people have been killed and more than 60,000 people have been rendered homeless. These are results of the BJP Government’s misplaced policies, he said.
The killing of innocent citizens with weaponized drones and the disappearance of a citizen from inside a military station are all happening during the incumbent BJP Government, he pointed out.
Even Union Home Minister Amit Shah has been making contradictory statements on the Manipur crisis. He first said that illegal immigrants were behind the Manipur violence. But later he claimed that the violence is a result of ethnic conflict.
With Amit Shah now claiming that the violence is an ethnic conflict, there is a strong possibility of the Commission of Enquiry coming out with a report that the crisis is an ethnic conflict, the MPCC vice-president said.
Reacting to Govindas Konthoujam’s statement that the Congress party won both the Lok Sabha seats of Manipur because of the violent conflict, Hareshwar Goswami asserted that the Congress party won the two Lok Sabha with huge margins because people knew very well their suffering was a result of the BJP Government’s wrong policies and people were fed up of BJP’s false propaganda.
He went on to question Govindas Konthoujam’s inability to fix an appointment       with the Prime Minister to discuss the Manipur crisis despite being a Cabinet Minister.
He further questioned BJP’s inability to take up any action against the BJP Ministers and MLAs belonging to Kuki community who have been openly campaigning for disintegration of Manipur.