Manipur: Opposition Delegation Meets Governor Anusuiya Uikey, Says State Machinery Has Completely Failed To Control Situation

The delegation of Opposition MPs visiting Manipur on Sunday met Governor Anusuiya Uikey at Raj Bhavan in Imphal and submitted a memorandum.

Twenty-one MPs of the Opposition coalition INDIA were on a two-day visit of Manipur, which has been in the grips of ethnic violence since May 3. On the first day of their visit, the MPs on Saturday visited relief camps and met the victims of the monthlong violence. 

After meeting the Governor, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who was part of the Opposition delegation, said that Uikey said to them that an all-party delegation should visit Manipur to talk to the people.

Ethnic violence erupted in Manipur on May 3 between the state's Meitei and tribal communities. On May 3, a Tribal Solidarity March was held against the proposed scheduled tribe (ST) status to the Meiteis. Over 150 people have died in the violence so far and several thousands have been displaced. Houses, government buildings, religious places, and political establishments have come under attacks. 

In the memorandum, the Opposition MPs indicted both the state and central governments and said the "state machinery has completely failed" to handle the situation. They also slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence on the situation. They sought rehabilitation and resettlement of the affected people and highlighted that there is a sense of alienation among all sections of the society that needs to be addressed. 

Opposition delegation meets Manipur Governor 

The Opposition MPs on Sunday submitted a memorandum to Governor Anusuiya Uikey and discussed the situation in Manipur.

Speaking to media after their visit, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury of Congress said the Opposition delegation would present the findings from their visit in the Parliament. 

Chowdhury also said that Uikey said an all-party delegation should visit Manipur to meet the people of the state.

"Governor said all-party delegation should visit Manipur to talk to people to remove mistrust among communities...We will present our observations on Manipur in Parliament...We have requested discussion on Manipur in Parliament as situation deteriorating everyday...If Manipur issue is not resolved soon, it may create security problem for country," said Chowdhury, as per PTI.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has slammed the visit as show-off. The Opposition, on the other end, has said that there should be no politics on the situation in Manipur. Earlier, 10 Opposition parties, including some who are represented in the delegation currently visiting Manipur, had termed Chief Minister N Biren Singh as the "architect" of the violence. The Opposition has also repeatedly slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for being silent on the violence in the state. 

Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said, "We have always said that if the Prime Minister wants to lead an all-party delegation, we would be happy to be a part of it. In the end, we want peace to be established.” 

Chowdhury, also the Congress party leader in Lok Sabha, earlier said the Opposition was not trying to do any politics over the issue, reported Hindustan Times (HT). 

Chowdhury said, "The key point is that Manipur has been overlooked. As it was overlooked by the state government and Central government, the situation is worsening. Peace should be restored at the earliest. It is essential to maintain harmony and justice. We will demand that the Governor make all efforts to restore normalcy. It is the failure of the Government."

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha earlier said, “We are going to request the Governor to restore peace in the state. We will handover a memorandum to the Governor.” 

Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Sushmita Dev earlier said, “The situation is not good here (Manipur), we want to present a joint memorandum to the Governor and appeal to restore peace. We will ask the Governor to inform about the situation in the state to PM Modi and Union HM Amit Shah.”

Rehabilitation, alienation, State failure: What does the memorandum say?

In the memorandum submitted to Manipur Governor Anusuiya Uikey, the Opposition MPs said there is a sense of alienation among all the sections of society. 

The MPs said that the "state machinery has completely failed to control the situation" and both the central and state governments are at fault. 

The delegation also slammed slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his "silence", showing "brazen indifference" to the ongoing situation in the northeastern state. Notably, it was only last week after a video of two tribal women being paraded naked and groped in Manipur went viral that Modi made first public comments on the situation in Manipur. During over two months of silence, he was repeatedly criticised for not addressing the violence in Manipur. 

"From the reports of incessant firing and arson of houses in the last few days, it is established beyond doubt that the state machinery has completely failed to control the situation for the last almost three months," said the memorandum.

There is anger and a sense of alienation amongst all communities and it has to be addressed without delay, said the MPs.

The MPs further told the Governor, "We earnestly request you to restore peace and harmony taking all effective measures, where justice should be the cornerstone. In order to bring peace and harmony, rehabilitation and resettlement of the affected persons is most urgent...You are also requested to apprise the Union government of the complete breakdown of law and order in Manipur for the last 89 days so as to enable them to intervene in the precarious situation in Manipur to restore peace and normalcy."

The MPs also stressed that the "failure of both the central and state governments" to protect the lives and properties in Manipur. 

The memorandum said that the condition in the relief camps is "pathetic" and special care needs to be taken for the kids on a priority basis.

"Students from different streams are facing uncertain future, which has to be the priority of the state and the Union governments," said the MPs in the memorandum.

What did the Opposition delegation do on day 1 in Manipur?

On their first day of the visit, the Opposition MPs on Saturday visited several relief camps in Imphal, Moirang in Bishnupur district and Churachandpur and met victims of ethnic clashes, reported PTI. 

Chowdhury said on Saturday: "The Prime Minister and Union home minister are not saying anything and misguiding the country. They are telling that everything is fine in Manipur, but it is not. They are not allowing us to speak in Parliament...We have come here to meet the people, we spoke to them and heard stories of the horrors. Now, we will raise those stories in Parliament."

After arriving in Manipur on Saturday, the Opposition delegation divided themselves into multiple groups. One group comprising Chowdhury and others departed for Churachandpur first to visit the relief camp set up at the Boys Hostel of Churachandpur College. The second team comprising party deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi and others went to visit a relief camp at Don Bosco School in Churachandpur, a source in the Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) told PTI.

After returning to Imphal, the team led by Chowdhury visited a relief camp at Moirang College in Bishnupur district by road to meet victims from the Meitei community, said the source to PTI. The news agency reported that the second group went to the Ideal Girl's College relief camp at Akampat in Imphal East district.

The Opposition delegation includes MPs from leading parties of the INDIA coalition, like the Congress, Trinamool Congress (TMC), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), DMK, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Janata Dal-United  (JD-U), and CPM. 

Besides Chaudhary and Gogoi, the delegation includes: Sushmita Dev (TMC), Mahua Maji (Jharkhand Mukti Morcha), Kanimozhi (DMK), Mohammad Faizal (Nationalist Congress Party), Jayant Chaudhary (Rashtriya Lok Dal), Manoj Kumar Jha (Rashtriya Janata Dal), N K Premachandran (Revolutionary Socialist Party), T Thirumavalavan (VCK), Janata Dal (United) chief Rajiv Ranjan (Lalan) Singh, Aneel Prasad Hegde (JD-U), CPI's Sandosh Kumar, CPI-M's A A Rahim, Samajwadi Party's Javed Ali Khan, IUML's E T Mohammed Basheer, AAP's Sushil Gupta, Arvind Sawant (Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), D Ravikumar (DMK), Phulo Devi Netam and K Suresh (Congress).