A team of 21 parliamentarians from the INDIA coalition landed in Imphal on July 29 morning on a two-day visit. Their tour comes ahead of a debate on the no-confidence motion, moved by the Opposition to force Prime Minister Narendra Modi to speak on the Manipur strife in Parliament.
They headed for the relief camps in Churachandpur district and are also scheduled to visit Bishnupur, Kangpokpi and other troubled areas. The delegation will be meeting Manipur Governor Anusuiya Uikey before returning to Delhi.
Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi, JMM MP Mahua Maji, former Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh and other leaders of the INDIA parties meet ethnic violence-hit people at a relief camp in Manipur’s Imphal East district on July 29, 2023. | Photo Credit: PTI
Speaking to The Hindu, the members of the delegation accused the State administration of letting the conflict get to a point of no return. Congress Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha and prime mover of the no-confidence motion, Gaurav Gogoi, said, “It was a very painful day for me, to see such a beautiful State split asunder. It is clear that the State administration has no clear road map to restore peace or even to rehabilitate those who have been languishing in the refugee camps for nearly three months.”
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Three out of the four women in the delegation — Trinamool Congress MP Sushmita Dev, DMK’s K. Kanimozhi and Congress’s Phulo Devi Netam — met one of the victims who was paraded naked and molested by a mob on May 4. The video of the incident shook the country and flagged the violence against women in the conflict-torn State. Speaking to The Hindu, Ms. Dev, said there is still palpable fear in the camps since the State administration has proven to be ineffectual and because the weapons stolen from the State police armoury are still untraceable. “The big question here is who will negotiate the settlement? Both Kukis and Meities do not want to speak to Chief Minister Biren Singh. The Meities are asking where the CM was when they were being killed in the hills. I met the woman from the disturbing video. She asked me why has the CM not acted against the policemen who stood as mute spectators when she was being paraded naked and molested by a mob. I had no answer,” Ms. Dev added.
‘Camps in bad shape’
CPI(M) member A.A. Raheem said that while one can give the benefit of the doubt to the State administration on its failure to control the conflict, what is beyond comprehension is the State government’s absolute neglect of the camps. “We visited a camp in Churachandpur where there are 9,000 persons from the Kuki community. It is a heart-rending sight; the camps are packed with women and children facing an uncertain future. The district administration was nowhere to be seen, all the work is being done by the civil society. The food is hardly nourishing, the roofs are leaking, there is no proper light at night and the children roam around listlessly,” Mr. Raheem said. He added that the condition of Meitei camps are no better, though the residents did mention that the district administration has made occasional rounds.
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CPI MP P. Sandosh Kumar, who had visited the State as part of a delegation of the Left MPs in the first week of July, said there has been no improvement in the condition since then. “The overwhelming feeling here is that this conflict is a horror without an end,” he said.
RJD MP Manoj K. Jha said both the Central and State governments had messed up the situation. “There is so much bitterness between the two communities. The government itself supplied the poison which has spread across the State and is threatening to spill over across its boundaries to other north-eastern States.”
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The Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum, a Kuki organisation, has written to the INDIA delegation, stating that they “refuse to entertain the thought of going back to living under the communal Manipur government controlled by the Meitei community”.
Show-off, says I&B Minister
Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur, hit out at the delegation calling the visit a mere “show-off”. “When Manipur used to remain shut for months, they had not spoken a word,” he said referring to the tenures of the past governments. Reiterating the government narrative that the Opposition parties are turning a blind eye to the cases of atrocities against women in States ruled by them, he asked, “My request to Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is to bring the same delegation to West Bengal, where atrocities are happening against women. Does the Congress oppose the way the Mamata Banerjee government is holding on to power through killings?” he added.
