Reiterates demand for Prime Minister to speak
NEW DELHI, July 5: The Congress today warned against attempts to destabilize the North-Eastern region of the country and divide people there, saying it will have grave repercussions for the territorial integrity of the country.
The party pointed out, the North East area was geopolitically very important in relation to the territorial integrity of the country.
Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters here today, Deputy leader of Congress party in Loksabha, Gaurav Gogoi and Congress leader Dr Ajoy Kumar said, the situation was deteriorating in Manipur and was also having an impact in the neighbouring states in the North East.
Added to this, the two leaders warned, the complete indifference of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi towards Manipur has led to a strong sense of disappointment and rejection among people there.
They said, people of Manipur are asking when the Prime Minister had all the time to address election meetings and visit foreign countries, what prevented him from visiting Manipur.
Mr Gogoi also referred to the captain of the Indian football team, Sunil Chhetri and said, half of the team members who recently won the SAFF championship, belonged to North East. He said, while the PM took no time to celebrate the victory, he still did not have a word about the suffering of people in Manipur.
The Congress leader said, the Prime Minister should take cue from the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is the only national leader who went to Manipur and met the affected people belonging to all communities there.
Mr Gogoi said, the incidents of burning of churches did lead to bad feelings beyond the borders of Manipur, which he pointed out, is not good for the integrity of the country. He said people are feeling alienated and isolated in the North East in general and Manipur in particular.
The two leaders agreed with a reporter’s question that the situation as it was building up in Manipur could have repercussions on security issues. Dr Ajoy Kumar revealed that even the police force was so polarized that one of the Inspectors General of Police had to leave his Meitei security personnel behind and take the Kuki personnel as he entered the Kuki area.
Warning against destabilizing the North East, Mr Gogoi referred to the skirmishes between the Assam Police and Meghalaya Police and other skirmishes along the Assam-Mizoram, Assam-Manipur and Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border.
He said, it took about two decades of efforts to bring peace and restore normalcy in the North East and now the situation is drifting back from where it had started.
Reiterating their demand that the Prime Minister must speak and also visit Manipur, the Congress leaders said, displaced and affected people were crying for attention. The plight of relief camps, they said, was miserable, as there was acute shortage of essential goods, particularly the medicines.
They demanded that those put in relief camps should be shifted to proper accommodation as right now they had been made to camp in schools and colleges where the living conditions were horrible.
To a question, the Congress leaders said, the party will definitely raise the issue in the coming session of the parliament and expected the government to address and answer all the issues.
