On their second day of visit to ethnic strife-hit Manipur, Leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha, who is part of a delegation of 21 MPs from the opposition alliance INDIA who are in the northeastern state to assess on ground situation, said that the delegation met Manipur Governor Anusuiya Uikey and discussed the situation with her.
The delegation of 21 MPs of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) submitted a memorandum on their observations after their two-day visit to the BJP-ruled state.
“21 MPs from the INDIA alliance met the Governor of Manipur and submitted a memorandum and discussed the situation of Manipur with her. During the two-day visit, we explained the Governor everything, and she agreed to us. She also advised us that we speak to leaders from all communities, including Kukis or Meiteis, and find a solution to the problem. It is necessary to resolve the issue together,” the Congress MP said.
“The Governor also advised that an-all party delegation, cutting across political lines, should come to Manipur and talk to leaders from all communities. There is an environment of distrust among people, therefore, leaders must come and work to quell the fear from the minds of the people,” he added.
“We have requested a discussion on Manipur in Parliament as the situation is deteriorating every day,” the Congress MP said.
Violence broke out in Manipur on May 3 after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status, killing over 160 people since then, and injuring hundreds.
On Saturday, Chowdhury said that the conflict in the northeastern state was sullying India’s image and all parties needed to find a peaceful solution to end it.
On the first day of their two-day whirlwind tour, the opposition MPs visited several relief camps in Imphal, Moirang in Bishnupur district and Churachandpur and met victims of ethnic clashes. The MPs reached Imphal by a commercial flight from Delhi.
“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,” Chowdhury told reporters on Saturday evening.
“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,” he added.
Meanwhile, the mother of one of the two women paraded naked by a mob in Manipur on May 4 urged the MPs of the opposition coalition to help her see the bodies of her husband and son, who were also killed on that day. When TMC MP Sushmita Dev and DMK MP Kanimozhi met the mother of one of the victims, she urged them to help her at least see the bodies of her son and husband, reported PTI.
She also told the two leaders the situation is such that Kukis and Meteis, the two warring communities, cannot live together anymore.
