Congress leader attacks state, Centre for their handling of Manipur crisis​on December 31, 2024 at 8:24 pm

Congress leader attacks state, Centre for their handling of Manipur crisis

​Congress leader attacks state, Centre for their handling of Manipur crisis Congress leader attacks state, Centre for their handling of Manipur crisis   

Former Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh on Tuesday expressed disappointment and displeasure over the state and Central government’s failure to resolve the Manipur conflict, saying that the state Assembly should be convened at the earliest and the issue should be discussed.

“Today marks the end of the calendar year and yet the assembly has not been convened”, Ibobi Singh said, calling for discussions to resolve the conflict around the ethnic violence the state has been reeling under since May 2023.

“It cannot be discussed by hanging out,” Congress Legislative Party leader Ibobi Sing said during a press conference in Imphal on Tuesday. He expressed frustration over the handling of the prolonged crisis in Manipur.

“It is very unfortunate to say that Central government is still unable to resolve the Manipur conflict. It would not have taken such a long time if it happened in some other state of India”, he said, adding that the state government has also not paid any heed to the demands of convening the Assembly session.

The Congress leader also highlighted that their party repeatedly appealed to convene an Assembly session to address critical issues affecting Manipur. The state Assembly is the only appropriate platform to discuss and find solutions to the ongoing crisis, he pointed out.

However, despite submitting a memorandum to the Governor, Chief Minister and the Speaker of the Assembly, he added.

He questioned that if Karnataka can hold four Assembly sessions in a year, why can Manipur not do so?

“During the Congress period, the law and order situation was not required for more Assembly sessions”, Ibobi replied when he was asked about two sessions during his reign as the Chief Minister of Manipur.

The former Chief Minister also warned of potential unrest if the government took more time to resolve the issue and ignored public grievances. “The people might lose trust in the government and reach a breaking point then the security forces might face difficulties in maintaining law and order.