Congress, 10 Oppn Parties Questions PM Modi's 'Silence' Over Manipur Violence, Says Waiting To Meet Him

Leaders from Congress and 10 other parties from Manipur are in the national capital and will remain until June 20 to meet with the Prime Minister.

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh (left), Prime Minister Narendra Modi (right).

Source : PTI

The Congress, along with 10 other like-minded parties from Manipur, questioned the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the violence in the northeastern state on Saturday and said they were waiting for an opportunity to speak with him in-depth about it, news agency IANS reported. Speaking with media at the party headquarters, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said: "Ten opposition parties from Manipur are waiting for the appointment from the Prime Minister. Ten parties, Congress, JD(U), CPI, CPI(M), Trinamool Congress, AAP, All India Forward Bloc, Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP and Revolutionary Socialist Party have sought an appointment with the Prime Minister. They are awaiting a reply. We are hopeful that before leaving for the US on June 20, he will meet the opposition parties."

All of these leaders are in the national capital and will remain until June 20 to meet with the Prime Minister.

#WATCH | Delhi: From 10th June, 10 opposition parties from Manipur are waiting for an opportunity to meet Prime Minister...They sent a letter to PM on 10th June and requested to meet him, they're still waiting. They hope that before PM leaves for his foreign trip on 20th June, he… pic.twitter.com/ckcNNtzZQf

— ANI (@ANI) June 17, 2023

Taking a dig at Centre, Ramesh said: "Manipur was burning 22 years ago on June 18, 2001. The Assembly Speaker's bungalow, CM Secretariat was burnt and the blockade remained for three-and-a-half months. At that time the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on the demand of all parties, convened an all-party meeting twice and he appealed for peace."

"Whereas, today leaders from 10 parties are waiting to meet PM Modi, but he is silent," Ramesh stated. 

He stated that an all-party team from Manipur met with the Prime Minister on June 24, 2001, barely six days after the tragedy in the state.

"Before going abroad, the then Home Minister L.K. Advani met the all-party delegation on July 8 and the Prime Minister (Vajpayee) once again appealed to maintain the calm and help the administration to help in restoring normalcy in the state," he said.

Ramesh stated that representatives from ten political parties are waiting here today to meet with the Prime Minister, but he is mute and has yet to make an appeal.

"This is clear that there is no faith in the state government and we can only hope to get help from the central government as the state government has failed entirely. Even after Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to Manipur, there is no difference in the situation," he stated.

"We demand that the Prime Minister see the appeal of Vajpayee and also meet with the delegation. Instead of Mann ki Baat, he must do Manipur ki Baat," Ramesh added.

Former Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh stated that Manipur has been burning since May 3 and continues to burn to this day. "There is a hue and cry everywhere, with 20,000 people, including women and children, taking shelter in camps. However, the Prime Minister has not yet expressed anything regarding Manipur. Is Manipur a part of India or not? If it is, why hasn't the Prime Minister of India spoken about it? We, the 10 like-minded political parties, have prepared a memorandum advocating for peace."

"We are not here for political advantage but we simply seek peace. Please help us," Singh added.