'Also Visit Malda, Cooch Behar': Bengal BJP Chief Sukanta Slams Oppn's Manipur Visit As 'Political Tour'

Sukanta urged the opposition to turn their attention to West Bengal and meet with the victims of the Malda and Cooch Behar incidents.

File Photo Of West Bengal BJP President Sukanta Majumdar

Source : PTI

West Bengal BJP President Sukanta Majumdar on Sunday slammed the visit of opposition MPs from I.N.D.I.A parties to Manipur, calling it a "political tour". He urged the opposition to turn their attention to West Bengal and meet with the victims of the Malda and Cooch Behar incidents. Majumdar emphasised that the situation in Manipur transcends politics and called on the Opposition to address the issue in Parliament.

Majumdar said: "This is nothing more than a political campaign. They should travel to West Bengal and meet with the victims of Malda and Cooch Behar. The incident in Manipur is unrelated to politics. The opposition should convene in Parliament and debate this issue," he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. 

"Whatever happened in Manipur is above politics, the opposition must understand. It's not a Modi-Mamata issue. This 'political tourism' will not benefit them. There were times when Manipur was closed for weeks. None of the previous governments have handled the northeastern states better than PM Modi's government," he said. 

"We want to find a solution to this issue, and we want to discuss Manipur in parliament," he added further. 

Earlier on Saturday, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said that the opposition INDIA bloc's visit to Manipur was a "mere show-off". 

Since early May, the north-eastern state has seen ethnic clashes between the majority Meitei community, which lives in the Imphal valley, and the Kukis, who live in the hills. So far, more than 160 people have been killed in the violence.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut slammed the BJP on Sunday for characterising the visit of members of the opposition bloc INDIA to Manipur as a "show-off," claiming that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has neither visited nor spoken about the strife-torn state, news agency PTI reported. 

More than 200 people, according to Raut, have been killed, while the homes of ministers and legislators have been burned and some women have paraded naked in Manipur.

The delegation of I.N.D.I.A alliance Opposition MPs met Governor Anusuiya Uikey at the Raj Bhavan in Imphal on the second day of their visit to the crisis-hit Northeastern state of Manipur and presented her with a memorandum requesting her to restore peace and harmony in the state. Continuing their criticism of the Modi government, the MPs questioned the 'Prime Minister's silence' in a memorandum that stated that the "silence of Hon'ble Prime Minister shows his brazen indifference to the violence in Manipur".

"You are also requested to inform the Union Government of the complete breakdown of law and order in Manipur for the last 89 days so that they can intervene in the precarious situation in Manipur to restore peace and normalcy," said the memorandum.

The Parliamentarians visited relief camps in Churachandpur, Moirang, and Imphal during their two-day visit to the state, according to the memorandum, and interacted with victims and inmates taking shelter there.