Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday left for a foreign trip, which includes a US visit and a state dinner, without giving an audience to a 10-party delegation from Manipur waiting to meet him since June 10.
Dismayed by Modi’s refusal to meet the senior leaders from Manipur where peace has yet to return after a conflagration that has claimed over 100 lives and displaced 60,000 people, former chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh said they were not “beggars” to be treated with such apathy when all they wanted was the restoration of normality.
“We feel as if we are of no worth. We didn’t come to beg for anything; we are not beggars. Our people are dying, our state is burning and we want peace. But the Prime Minister does not have five minutes for us,” Singh said.
Congress spokesperson Ajoy Kumar said the attitude of the BJP towards the senior-most leaders of Manipur was reflected in the Prime Minister’s decision to spare 45 minutes to meet a “dialogue writer”. He was referring to Manoj Muntashir who has penned dialogues in the movie Adipurush that have run into controversy.
Prime Minister Modi boards a plane in New Delhi on Tuesday on his way to the US for a visit that includes a state dinner on Thursday. PTI
Singh said: “Manipur is a tiny state but such a big crisis there should be treated as a national issue. The trouble is the outcome of the BJP’s politics and the state government’s incapacity to handle the crisis. If the Prime Ministerhad shown commitment and determination, violence could have stopped in 24 hours.But we wonder whether Manipur has been left to burn as part of any secret or hidden agenda.”
Venting his anguish at Modi’s apathy, Singh said: “The government gets alarmed when a temple is vandalised in Australia or Canada. Over 600 temples and churches have so far been burnt down or vandalised in Manipur. Isn’t India concerned? What will the Prime Minister say if somebody asks him in a foreign country about the destruction of temples and churches in India? If suchviolence happened in the mainland — Uttar Pradesh or Bihar — wouldn’t we see a different attitude? Manipur merged with India in 1949and now our youths are wondering what’s the gain if the state is not treated as part of India?”
Another senior leader and former minister Nimai Chand Luwang said: “We are extremely disappointed. I don’t want to use strong words but people are not happy with this in Manipur. The trouble started because the BJP struck a deal with a Kuki militant outfit. The people now don’t want to see the face of chief minister N. Biren Singh. He must go.”
All other members of the delegation blamed chief minister and BJP leader Biren Singh for the crisis.
Pleading with the media to spread the message of the crisis in Manipur, a member of the delegation said it was not a communal fight between the Kukis and the Meiteis, but a problem created by governance failure. “The chief minister is the architect and builder of the problem. People expected the Prime Minister to intervene. But do you know what happened after the (latest) Mann Ki Baat? People smashed their radio sets on the road.”
The delegation went to the Prime Minister’s Office on Tuesday and submitted the memorandum to officials after Modi left for the US. The memorandum gave details of the trouble that started on May 3. “Both the governments, at the Centre and state, are to be held responsible for having failed to contain the ongoing violence,” the memorandum stated.
Referring to the demand by 10 Kuki MLAs for a separate administrative unit, the memorandum said: “We oppose it and stand for unity and territorial integrity of Manipur. The grievances of each and every community must be heard and addressed sensitively. All armed groups must be disarmed immediately.”