The Congress also demanded the immediate sacking of Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh.
The Congress on Saturday alleged that its leader and former chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh was not given enough time to present his points representing the “pain and anguish of the people of Manipur” during the all-party meeting called by Union home minister Amit Shah in New Delhi.
“More than 50 days after the violence in Manipur started, the home ministry organised an all-party meeting today. I was nominated by the AICC. I barely had 7-8 minutes to share my views. Manipur is my home state. I asked for additional five minutes to express my opinions, but it was denied. This is unfortunate,” Singh, a three-time Manipur chief minister, said at a press conference after the meeting.
Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh also made similar allegations saying the meeting was “just an eye-wash and a formality”.
“As the principal Opposition party, our representative the senior most leader from Manipur, 3-time elected CM Okram Ibobi Singh, was not allowed to present his points representing the pain and anguish of the people of Manipur,” Ramesh tweeted.
“He was the only leader from Manipur in the all-party meeting today, and it is an insult not only to the former CM and the Congress party, but the people of Manipur, that their representative was not allowed to fully put forth his point of view,” he added.
He also shared the eight points on behalf of the Congress, which includes the immediate removal of the chief minister of Manipur, “without which no progress can (be) made towards peace and normalcy in Manipur”.
Opposition seeks visit by all-party delegation to Manipur
Several opposition parties sought an all-party delegation visit to the northeastern state but the government remained non-committal, sources told news agency PTI.
The Samajwadi Party and a few others sought imposition of the President’s rule in the state that has witnessed sporadic violence since May 3.
However, the government asserted it was doing its best to bring back normalcy there, sources said.
Amit Shah said all efforts are being made to restore peace in Manipur on instructions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP’s Manipur in-charge Sambit Patra told reporters after the meeting.
The home minister also told the meeting that since the violence began in the state, there has “not been a single day” when he did not speak to PM Modi on the situation or the prime minister did not give instructions, Patra said.
Leaders of various political parties, including the BJP, Congress, Trinamool Congress, DMK, AIADMK, Aam Aadmi Party and the Left, attended the meeting which was convened by the home minister to discuss the prevailing situation in the state.
Nearly 120 people have lost their lives and over 3,000 are injured since the ethnic violence broke out in the state on May 3.
Source: Hindustan Times