Nothing to do with ST demand : CPI

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Jan 9 : In a veiled attack at Chief Minister N Biren Singh, the Communist Party of India, Manipur State Council (CPI-MSC) has said that the Meetei demanding Scheduled Tribe (ST) status wasn't the cause of the crisis engulfing Manipur since May last year as portrayed but the Government not resolving the conflict is intentional.
The response of the Left party comes a day after the Chief Minister said that the Government is not at fault for the unrest in Manipur since it all started after the rally to oppose the demand that the Meeteis be granted ST status.
Without taking any name, CPI-MSC, in a statement signed by its assistant secretary M Joykumar Luwang, said that people won't want to see an irresponsible statement coming out from a responsible person and making an issue out of it.
The Government should not take the silence of the people as otherwise as it is them who have been bearing  the brunt of the unrest, the Left party advised.
The situation in Manipur may seem calm on the surface now but this calmness is like a dormant volcano which may explode anytime, it said.
Refuting the claim that Meetei demand for ST status was the cause of the conflict, the CPI-MSC asked why armed Kuki individuals took part in the protest rally taken out on May 3, 2023 if their concern was against the Meetei seeking Constitutional safeguards.
Claiming that the Government is deliberately not resolving the conflict as they have a discreet agenda, the Left party maintained that the majority of the people in Manipur want normalcy in the State but the double engine BJP Government doesn't.
The Government not wanting to discuss Manipur in Parliament speaks volume of their intention to keep the State on the boil, it added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has deliberately ignored the people of Manipur as he neither has come to console the people nor uttered a word of condolence for all those lives lost, the Communist party continued.
Saying that western countries especially the United States have a hand in the crisis as establishing a Nation for the Kuki Zo people in the region will give them a foothold to counter China, CPI-MSC said that the stand of the Indian Government on protecting the   unity and integrity of Manipur is doubtful.
The Left party then urged the Government to resolve the crisis immediately without compromising the unity and integrity of Manipur, expedite the rehabilitation of the displaced individuals, protect lives and properties of the people, restore special category status for Manipur and provide a special economic package.