Congress seeks fresh elections in Manipur, accuses PM of failing to uphold ‘Rajdharma’
The Congress on Saturday targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his silence and alleged failure to uphold “Rajdharma” in Manipur and demanded fresh elections in the strife-torn state.
The opposition party also alleged the ground situation was far from normal despite the imposition of President’s Rule in Manipur.
More than 260 people have been killed, 1,500 injured and over 70,000 displaced since ethnic violence broke out between the Meteis and the Kukis on May 3, 2023.
President’s Rule was imposed in Manipur on February 13 and the assembly put under suspended animation, days after N Biren Singh resigned as chief minister. The Manipur Assembly has a tenure till 2027.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said Modi, by not visiting Manipur even once during this time, had failed to uphold “Rajdharma”.
In a post on X, he said Manipur was observing two years of violence without the Prime Minister setting foot on its soil.
“Just two days ago, 25 persons were injured in a violent clash in Tamenglong district. More than 260 people have died. 68,000 people displaced and thousands are still living in relief camps,” Kharge noted.
The leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha tagged the Prime Minister in his post and asked three “pointed questions”.
“Since January 2022, your last election rally in Manipur, you have made 44 foreign visits around the globe and 250 domestic visits across the nation, yet you have not spent a single second in Manipur. Why this apathy and disdain for the people of Manipur? Where is the political accountability?” the Congress chief asked.
He claimed the Centre passed a resolution to impose President’s Rule “in a hurried manner, at 2 am midnight” to hide its “rank incompetence”.
The Congress chief asserted, “Modi ji, once again, you failed upholding — Rajdharma!!”
Meanwhile, the Congress’ Manipur in-charge Saptagiri Ulaka called the violence “one of the gravest humanitarian crises in India”.
“People fear that this violence was manufactured and two years have now gone by,” he said.
He also trained his guns on the Prime Minister for not visiting the state.
India