‘Unprecedented turmoil’: Kharge asks President Murmu to intervene in Manipur
Mallikarjun Kharge said the people of Manipur have apparently lost confidence in both the central and state governments
NEW DELHI: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday sought President Droupadi Murmu’s immediate intervention in the Manipur crisis, blaming the union and the state government for the “unprecedented turmoil” in the state.
In a two-page letter, Kharge said “deliberate acts of omission and commission”, as well as inordinate inaction by the central and state governments, had “resulted in complete lawlessness, absence of rule of law, violations of human rights, compromise of national security and suppression of fundamental rights of citizens of our country”.
Kharge’s letter came a day after the Congress demanded the resignation of Union home minister Amit Shah and Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh and an all party meeting on the situation in the state.
It “has become constitutionally imperative on part of yourself, Hon’ble Madam, as the President of Republic of India and the custodian of our Constitution to uphold the constitutional propriety and immediately intervene to ensure the protection of lives and properties of our own citizens in Manipur, as enshrined in the Constitution. I am confident that, through your intervention of your esteemed Office, the people of Manipur will again live peacefully in their homes in security with dignity,” the Congress chief said.
Kharge’s letter comes at a time when the northeastern state remains engulfed in violence that first erupted in May 2023. The violence has effectively divided Manipur into two ethnic enclaves – the Meitei-dominated Imphal valley and Kuki-majority hills – despite the presence of buffer zones monitored by security forces.
The latest bout of violence began after a Kuki-Hmar woman was allegedly killed in Jiribam on November 7, after which the six Meitei family members were abducted during the Ningol Chakkouba festival. On Monday, fishermen in Lakhipur found the body of Laishram Heitombi Devi, the last missing member of the family after five other bodies, including those of two children, were recovered over the past week.
Their deaths are one of the central incidents in a cycle of violence and reprisal attacks that have flared up afresh between the Kuki and Meitei communities.
In his letter, Kharge blamed both the Centre and the state government. “As both the Union Government and the State Government of Manipur have completely failed in restoring peace and normalcy in Manipur during the last 18 months, the people of the state have apparently lost confidence in both the governments and reasonably so,” he said.
Kharge also pointed out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi hadn’t visited the state in the last 18 months. “The refusal of the Prime Minister to visit Manipur is beyond anybody’s understanding,” he said, adding that leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi had thrice visited the state since May 2023.
“With every passing day, the people of Manipur are becoming insecure on their own soil their home turf having witnessed their infants, babies, children and women getting mercilessly killed. With no succour coming from the governments involved, they are finding themselves completely isolated and helpless for more than 540 days now. Indeed, they have lost their faith in the Prime Minister of India and the Chief Minister of the State to protect their lives and properties,” Kharge added.
“The country has been inflicted with a grave tragedy of extra-ordinary proportions due to the unprecedented turmoil in Manipur for the last 18 months, the ongoing turmoil has taken more than 300 human lives, including women, children and even small babies. It has internally displaced nearly a lakh of human population rendering them homeless and forcing them to live in different relief camps. The agony of the people continues unabated,” Khrage said.
