At least three delegations, two groups of BJPs MLAs and one Congress delegation, had been camped up in Delhi since June 10, hoping to have an audience with the Prime Minister, to discuss the situation in Manipur.
It has been over a month since the violence erupted in Manipur and Prime Minister Modi is yet to break his silence on the situation.
Manipur’s former chief minister, Okram Iboi Singh, who is part of the Congress delegation visiting the Capital said, “We feel as if we are of no worth. We didn’t come to beg for anything; we are not beggars. Our people are dying, our state is burning and we want peace. But the Prime Minister does not have five minutes to give us.” Singh further said that the trouble in Manipur is “the outcome of the BJP’s politics and the state government’s incapacity to handle the crisis. If the Prime Minister had shown commitment and determination, violence could have stopped in 24 hours.”
Other members of the delegation blamed the Manipur chief minister Biren Singh for the crisis. With one member claiming, “The chief minister is the architect and builder of the problem.”
He further said, “People expected the Prime Minister to intervene. But do you know what happened after the Mann Ki Baat? People smashed their radio sets on the road”. Referencing the incident that took place last Sunday in Manipur, where on hearing Prime Minister Modi’s latest Mann Ki Baat andnoting that it had no mention of Manipur or the plight of its people, protestors took to the streets and smashed their radio sets as an expression of their disappointment and anger.
After Modi left for the US on Tuesday, the delegation went to the Prime Minister’s Office and submitted the memorandum to the officials. The memorandum detailed the events that started on May 3 and everything that followed. The memorandum stated, “Both the governments, at the Centre and state, are o be held responsible for having failed to contain the ongoing violence”
About the demand by the Kuki MLAs for a separate administrative unit, the memorandum said, “We oppose it and stand for the unity and territorial integrity of Manipur.” It also requested for the disarming of all armed groups.
The people of Manipur are still waiting for the government to take action and for peace to be restored.