State's integrity as good as compromised: Joykumar

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Feb 15 : NPP, Manipur unit  president Y Joykumar has said that im-position of President's Rule (PR) in Manipur could be a crucial step towards restoring law and order in the State.
Addressing the media at his residence  at Naorem-thong today, Joykumar, a former Deputy Chief Minister, said that the current state of affairs in Manipur is still dire as Meeteis couldn't traverse in Kangpokpi, Churachandpur, Moreh etc.
Meiteis are unable to travel freely in certain areas of their own State and it raises serious concerns about the territorial integrity of Manipur, he said.
Saying that he welcomes the assurance given by BJP's North East Coordinator to protect the territorial integrity of Manipur, the NPP leader added that it, however, would be unfortunate if Sambit Patra was only giving random statements like former Chief Minister N Biren had done in the past.
The situation in Manipur has reached a critical point, with the State's territorial integrity as good as compromised, he added.
Saying that no action has been seen from the side of the Central Government to protect the territorial integrity of Manipur as of yet, he urged all concerned to take immediate concrete action to protect Manipur as the State is under PR.
Joykumar also said that identifying the roadblocks to peace process is crucial for the State to move forward.
Saying that Government led by N Biren failed to enforce law and order, he expressed optimism that the Centre will work neutrally as PR has been imposed in the State.
Joykumar urged the Centre to not take side of any community, be it Meetei, Kuki, Naga or Meitei Pangal but work neutrally to bring consensus among the people.
Continuing that cases of arms looting and extortion have increased both in Meetei and Kuki dominated places, the NPP leader added that allowing the miscreants to loot weapons from police stations was a big mistake.
Normalcy will surely return in Manipur if rule of law is enforced, he said and added that Manipur police have a big role to play to end the crisis.
Claiming that the Manipur police force had faced significant challenges under the Biren led Government and the same impacted their ability to maintain law and order, Joykumar expressed desire for the Governor and the Chief Secretary to strengthen the police department.
He further said that  the police department could not work effectively amid the crisis as the Government acted in a very communal way by deploying Kuki personnel in Kuki dominated areas and Meetei personnel in Meetei areas.
Saying that many Kukis and Meeteis want normalcy to return, but they fear to speak out, he added that this climate of fear has led to a sense of silence and intimidation, making it challenging for people to express their aspirations for peace and normalcy.
Any peace building initiative taken up amid the PR cannot be challenged by Meeteis or Kukis, he said.
He, meanwhile, condemned the initiation of a disqualification case against the NPP MLAs by the Speaker's Tribunal, the judgement of which has been reserved.
Saying that they will go to a Court if the Speaker disqualified the party's MLAs, he advised the Speaker to disqualify BJP MLA Paolienlal Haokip who has been advocating disintegration of Manipur first.
He also asked the BJP to not protect its Kuki MLAs who have been working with armed groups to keep the State on the boil.