Newly-elected Manipur MP A. Bimol Akoijam on Monday questioned why Chief Minister N. Biren Singh had not yet sacked Director General of Police Rajiv Singh and Security Adviser Kuldiep Singh and taken charge of the Unified Headquarters, hours after The Hindu reported that the most recent spate of attacks in Jiribam district had taken place despite warnings sent to the police chief and the Security Adviser.
Mr. Akoijam alluded to whether these appointments were being made on the basis of “diktats” from Delhi, questioning why one should allow Delhi to “erode the federal structure” and “autonomy” of the State.
Also Read | Manipur CM seeks police report on violence in Jiribam
According to three letters sent to the DGP and the Security Adviser in January this year that The Hindu had reported on Monday morning, the CMO had flagged reported movements of around 200 “Kuki militants” in the Jiribam area at the time.
Calling the letters written months ago “intriguing”, Mr. Akoijam, Inner Manipur MP-elect, said, “The DGP and the Security Adviser have been appointed by the State Government… The Chief Minister should have sacked these top security officials appointed by him long time back and taken over the charge of the chairmanship of the Unified Headquarters. Why did not he do that?”
“The Chief Minister is not only the head of the government but also the Home Minister of the State. Presumably, the information about the movement of armed Kuki militants in the Jiri areas must have come from the intelligence agencies, including the one from the State police. So, the question is, whose failure is this? It is not just related to Jiribam but all throughout the crisis,” said Mr. Akoijam, who joined the Opposition Congress ahead of the polls to contest on their ticket.
The Congress MP continued, “Or is it that he appointed these official because of some sort of a diktat from New Delhi? If that is the case, then the question is why he did not resist as the Chief Minister and Home Minister of the State. After all, the State government and Chief Minister are constitutional authorities, and law and order is a State subject. Why should one allow Delhi to dictate terms and erode federal structure, the autonomy of the State? We need clear answers to these questions.”
