Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge.
Credit: PTI File Photo
New Delhi: Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday shot off a letter to President Droupadi Murmu over surging ethnic violence in Manipur and urged immediate intervention to bring peace and normalcy in the north-eastern state where people have "lost confidence" in the union and state governments, which have "completely failed".
Kharge said the "deliberate acts of omission and commission", as indeed "inordinate inaction" on part of both the central and state governments, have resulted in "complete lawlessness, absence of rule of law, violations of human rights, compromise of national security and suppression of fundamental rights of citizens".
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In a two-page letter, he said the “agony of the people continues unabated”, as the “grave tragedy of extraordinary proportions" have taken over 300 lives and "deteriorating law and order" has internally displaced nearly a lakh of people, rendering them homeless and forcing them to live in relief camps.
"I consider that it has become constitutionally imperative on part of yourself…as the President of Republic of India and the custodian of our Constitution to uphold the constitutional propriety and immediately intervene to ensure the protection of lives and properties of our own citizens in Manipur, as enshrined in the Constitution," he said.
Expressing hope that her actions would help people in Manipur live peacefully in their homes in security with dignity, Kharge also said both the Modi government in Delhi and N Biren Singh government in Manipur have "completely failed" in restoring peace and normalcy in the last 18 months and people have "apparently lost confidence" in both and "reasonably so".
"With every passing day, the people of Manipur are becoming insecure on their own soil - their home turf having witnessed their infants, babies, children and women getting mercilessly killed. With no succour coming from the governments involved, they are finding themselves completely isolated and helpless for more than 540 days now. Indeed, they have lost their faith in the Prime Minister of India and the Chief Minister of the state to protect their lives and properties," he said.
He said the Prime Minister has not visited Manipur since May 2023 after ethnic violence erupted despite the demand of people but on the other hand, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Raul Gandhi has been in the state thrice in the last 18 months and himself have visited the state in this period. The refusal of the Prime Minister to visit Manipur is beyond anybody's understanding, he said.
Kharge also pointed to the state of economy and living conditions in Manipur with retail inflation going up to 10 per cent and said this has made the lives of the people of Manipur "extremely difficult".
"Businesses are closed down, jobs are getting lost, professionals have left their own homes, essential food items, medicines, essential commodities are in scarcity, national highways are blocked since May of 2023,
schools and educational institutions are shut down, internally displaced persons are dying of suicide in relief camps," he said.
He also said Manipur and its people are suffering silently, which in turn has taken a huge toll on the mental health of the entire population.