Left leaders head to Manipur; ‘to restore peace’, says CPI’s Sandosh Kumar
In a statement announcing the visit, the left parties lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled governments at the Centre and in Manipur, saying the “claims of the greatest governance through double engine government are now exposed to the marrow of its bones”
A joint delegation of MPs from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Communist Party of India (CPI) will visit violence-hit Manipur from July 6-8, party officials familiar with the matter said.
The left leaders will visit the state for the next three days to take stock of the law and order situation in several areas and will also express solidarity with the affected people, according to the statement released on Wednesday.
Around 50,000 people are now staying in over 300 relief camps across the state since the violence started early last month.
In a statement announcing the visit, the left parties lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled governments at the Centre and in Manipur, saying the “claims of the greatest governance through double engine government are now exposed to the marrow of its bones”.
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Speaking to Hindustan Times ahead of his visit, CPI leader Sandosh Kumar said, “We will visit all the camps. Not just the hilly areas. We will also visit the Kuki areas. That is the most important thing. We will meet the party leaders across the parties and send a memorandum after assessing the ground situation.” In Manipur, the Meitei people represent around 53% of the population
Further criticising the state government, Kumar said that the government’s failure of action to control the situation in Manipur might have consequences in other parts of the country as well.
“Even after this scale of violence, the government has failed. The chief minister had publicly stated that he is not going to resign. The situation is so volatile. If they continue with this policy of division for their political gains, such violent development may occur in other regions of the country, especially other northeastern states.” he said.
He said that the delegations are visiting so to take stock of the situation to restore peace and harmony in the region.
Kumar said that the party leaders will formally address the media after their visit. They will speak with all the stakeholders, including members of all ethnic communities, to share their impartial experience of the region.
On Friday, the delegation will meet the Manipur governor in the evening and will address the media on Saturday after concluding their visit, according to the schedule released on Wednesday.
The five-member delegation visiting Manipur includes Bikashranjan Bhattacharya and John Brittas, Rajya Sabha members from CPI(M); Binoy Viswam, Sandosh Kumar P, Rajya Sabha members from CPI; and Subbarayan, a Lok Sabha member from CPI.
Last week, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi visited relief camps at Moirang in Manipur’s Bishnupur district and paid floral tribute at a memorial to the Indian National Army. He later visited the state capital Imphal, where he held an interaction with representatives of student bodies, women, and intellectuals and met Governor Anusuiya Uikeyas before leaving for New Delhi.
Manipur has been witnessing ethnic clashes between the tribal communities – Meitei and Kuki – which have claimed at least 122 lives so far, injured over 300 and displaced around 50,000.