A delegation of 20 MPs from the Opposition bloc INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) is visiting ethnic-violence hit Manipur on Saturday for a two-day visit to assess the on-ground situation in the north-eastern state.
The delegation includes Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Congress’ deputy leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi, TMC’s Sushmita Dev, JMM’s Mahua Maji, DMK’s Kanimozhi, Jayant Chaudhary of RLD, Manoj Kumar Jha of RJD, N K Premachandran of RSP, JD(U) chief Rajiv Ranjan (Lalan) Singh, Aneel Prasad Hegde (JD-U), CPI’s P Sandosh Kumar and CPI(M)’s A A Rahim, PP Mohammed Faizal, Aneel Prasad Hegde, ET Mohammed Basheer, Sushil Gupta, Arvind Sawant, D Ravikumar, Thiru Thol Thirumavalavan, Jayant Singh and Phulo Devi Netam.
Ahead of boarding the flight, Kanimozhi said that parties are going to assure the people of Manipur that they stand with them.
Meanwhile, TMC MP Sushmita Dev, hitting out at the Modi government, said, “The BJP is a failed party in Manipur. The only reason they are not changing the Chief Minister is because it is a BJP government.”
“The BJP has no moral right. They are responsible for the loss of lives in Manipur. The BJP and the Prime Minister has lost face,” she added.
Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said, “Law and order situation has collapsed (in Manipur) but for some reason the PM cannot see the tensions in Manipur. He only sees power and this proves that the nationalism claims by BJP-RSS are so fake.”
The delegation from 16 Opposition parties will make recommendations to the government and Parliament for a solution to Manipur’s problems, based on their observations.
Ahead of the visit, Gaurav Gogoi called for an inquiry under a retired Supreme Court judge into the violence in Manipur.
The delegation will be visiting affected areas and people both in the valley and the hills, Congress MP and whip in Rajya Sabha Naseer Hussain said on Friday. They would also visit two relief camps in both places to assess the situation.
The delegation will also meet Manipur Governor Anusuiya Uikey on Sunday morning.
The team of the opposition MPs has sought the use of helicopters locally from the state government to visit Churachandpur, where fresh violence has taken place.
