Congress demands Home Minister Amit Shah’s resignation over Manipur crisis

At a press conference in Delhi on Monday, the party demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi visit the State, and sought a full-time governor be appointed to the State at the earliest.

Amid the escalation of violence in Manipur over the last few weeks, the Congress on Monday (November 18, 2024) demanded Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s resignation over the Centre’s ‘failure’ to resolve the division between the Meitei and Kuki Zo communities that has claimed more than 240 lives since May 2023.

The principal Opposition party urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Manipur and address an all-party delegation from the State. The Congress also underlined the absence of a full-time governor in the State. In July this year, Anusuiya Uikey was shifted out of Manipur, and Assam Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya was given additional charge of the State. The party also set a deadline of November 25, when the Parliament session begins, for the government to take these steps.

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Addressing a press conference at the Congress headquarters in Delhi, party general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh, along with Manipur Congress chief K. Meghachandra Singh and AICC in-charge of State Girish Chodankar, also demanded immediate resignation of Chief Minister N. Biren Singh.

“From May 3, 2023, Manipur is burning and Prime Minister Modi visits various countries of the world, gives sermons, but could not find time to visit Manipur. So, our first demand is that the PM should take time out before the Parliament session to visit Manipur and meet political parties, politicians, civil society groups, and people in relief camps there,” Mr. Ramesh said.

‘PM has outsourced Manipur to Home Minister’

He said the Congress also demanded that the PM meet an all-party delegation from Manipur and then also call an all-party meeting at the national level. The party also said that the PM had “outsourced” Manipur to the Home Minister.

“There is a strange jugalbandi between the Home Minister and the failed CM. Why has the Home Minister not taken cognisance of the CM’s failures and why has he been attempting to save him? The only achievement of Home Minister in the last 18 months is saving the Chief Minister,” the Congress general secretary said.

The Congress, with just five MLAs in a 60-member Manipur Assembly, will neither press for a vote of confidence nor is it asking for President’s rule, Mr. Ramesh said and asked, “As it is, the Centre is administering the State. What difference will it make?” BJP in the 2022 polls got 32 out of the 60 seats. “But within 15 months of [the party] coming to power, Manipur began to burn. The double engine government has failed and been derailed. The Home Minister is directly responsible. We want the Home Minister to resign because it is his responsibility,” he said.

Manipur Congress chief K Meghachandra Singh said there was an unprecedented turmoil and “complete anarchy” prevailing under the “double engine government”.

Mr. Chodankar pointed out that the violence has also pushed up inflation rate which is currently at 10%. With schools shut down for a long time and a high rate of job loss, these 18 months of violence had affected everyone in the State, he said.

Published - November 18, 2024 07:15 pm IST