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Economic Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Economic Times
Manipur crisis persists as BJP shows no political will, says Congress
Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Claiming that there is no political will to resolve the crisis in Manipur, the opposition Congress on Saturday said that despite the BJP-led alliance having 54 MLAs in the 60-member assembly, it cannot form a government in the to reporters on the sidelines of a programme to mark the anniversary of the Quit India Movement, state Congress president Keisham Meghachandra said that with the imposition of the President's Rule in the state, the gunfights may have stopped, but people can't move this week, Parliament approved a statutory resolution to extend President's Rule in Manipur for another six months, beyond August 13."We have given suggestions and memorandums on the current law and order situation in the state to the BJP leadership many times. But our views are not taken seriously by the BJP-led government at the Centre. With the imposition of the President's Rule on February 13, the gunfights may have stopped, but people still can't move freely," he said."Social welfare schemes remain paralysed, and the finances of the state are in a huge crisis. We are not in favour of the extension of the President's Rule for another six months. There is no one to listen to the complaints and grievances of the people," he alleged that there is no political will to resolve the crisis."Despite the BJP and its allies having 54 MLAs in the 60-member House, no government could be formed," he Congress leader claimed that development of the state has completely stopped, and the healthcare facilities being provided by the Centre are not reaching the people."Due to the failure of the administration, the hardships of the people have multiplied," he also criticised the BJP-led government at the Centre for the budget allocated to the state."The size of the budget recently passed in Parliament is small, and the amount allotted for relief camps is not sufficient. We are disappointed with the budget," he Lok Sabha on Thursday passed the Manipur Appropriation Bill, 2025, authorising the state to spend Rs 30,969 crore for meeting expenditure requirements during the current financial May 2023, ethnic clashes broke out in the state between the Meteis and Kukis, leaving over 260 people killed, 1,500 injured, and over 70,000 people displaced.
The Hindu
29-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Manipur preparing for Special Intensive Revision, says Joint CEO
Manipur has begun holding training sessions of Block Level Officers and meetings with political parties for a Special Intensive Revision of the photo electoral rolls of the State, an exercise that the Election Commission of India is currently holding in Bihar and one that Opposition parties have criticised as being a roundabout way of conducting a National Register of Citizens. Election officials in the State said that the training sessions and meetings with political leaders of the State for a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) are being conducted as per communication from the Election Commission of India 'both formally and informally'. Joint Chief Electoral Officer, Manipur, Ramananda Nongmeikapam told The Hindu, 'This is in keeping with the SIR preparation underway across several other States like Bihar and is in line with the Election Commission's proposal to hold SIR across the country. So far, no communication has been given on specific timelines for this exercise in Manipur.' According to notifications made public by the Office of the District Election Officers across Manipur for meetings with political parties, there is a reference to 'the ensuing Special Intensive Revision of Photo Electoral Rolls w.r.t. 1.1.2026 as the qualifying date'. On July 25, at a meeting chaired by the Joint Chief Electoral Officer of Manipur, 'The participating parties were sensitised about the Election Commission of India's proposal to conduct a Special Intensive Revision across the country, aimed at safeguarding the integrity and accuracy of our democratic process,' the poll body in the State said. Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee President Keisham Meghachandra, who attended the July 25 meeting, told The Hindu, 'It seemed like through the SIR, they also want to change voting address of internally displaced persons to the relief camp locations where they are temporarily living. This was opposed by us as it would lead the State away from peace.' According to CEO, Manipur's official posts on social media, training sessions with BLOs and BLO Supervisors and meetings with political parties have been held this month across several Assembly constituencies in the State like Khangabok, Phungyar, Lamlai, Heirok, Noney, Ukhrul, among others. Training sessions The Chief Electoral Officer of Nagaland has also held training sessions in the State this July where 'duties of BLOs in Special Intensive Revision' was among the topics for the sessions, according to a public statement issued through the Department of Information and Public Relations of Nagaland. The training sessions for SIR in Manipur comes even as the State continues to deal with the crisis triggered by the ethnic conflict between the valley-based Meitei community and the hills-based Scheduled Tribe Kuki-Zo group of communities. Notably, one of the key issues that Meitei civil society organisations and erstwhile Chief Minister N. Biren Singh had blamed for the conflict was alleged 'illegal immigration of Kukis' from neighbouring Myanmar. During the Lok Sabha 2024 elections in the State too, the Bharatiya Janata Party had included the promise of an NRC as one of its top poll planks during campaigning for the Inner Manipur constituency. Mr. Meghachandra said, 'We made it clear at the July 25 meeting that the process should be fair. There should not be any attempt to add bogus voters either. Even Home Minister Amit Shah and former CM N. Biren Singh have spoken about illegal immigration in the State.' The last Assembly election in Manipur was held in 2022, which saw Bharatiya Janata Party emerge as the single largest party in the Assembly, with the government being formed with N. Biren Singh as Chief Minister. Currently, the State is under President's Rule, imposed in February this year, almost two years after the ethnic conflict began in the State. With the President's Rule set to expire in mid-August this, year, a resolution has been admitted in Rajya Sabha for extending President's Rule in the State for six more months this monsoon session. However, this resolution is yet to be passed.
The Hindu
09-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Resettlement plan for violence-displaced unclear: Manipur Congress chief
BISHNUPUR (Manipur) The Manipur government's three-phase resettlement plan for people displaced by a long-drawn conflict lacks clarity and could deepen the divide between the Meitei and the Kuki-Zo people, State Congress president Keisham Meghachandra said. He said the government's decision to execute the plan by December would merely result in shifting the internally displaced people (IDP) from relief camps to prefabricated units, both in the Meitei-dominated Imphal Valley and the Kuki-Zo-inhabited hills, instead of facilitating their return to the homes they abandoned or were forced to leave. Thousands of people — Kuki-Zos from the Imphal Valley and Meiteis from the surrounding hills — were displaced after the ethnic conflict in Manipur broke out on May 3, 2023. On July 4, Manipur's Chief Secretary P.K. Singh said a three-phase resettlement plan for the IDP had been worked out with the Centre. The first of these three phases was underway, and the next two phases would be undertaken in October and December. 'No road map' 'This resettlement plan is unacceptable to the Congress because the government is unclear. There is no concrete road map, and it is designed to deepen the division between the communities and prolong the displacement of the IDP,' Mr. Meghachandra told The Hindu during an inspection of prefabricated houses for the displaced people in Bishnupur district's Phubala and Saitul. 'There are no efforts by the government under the President's Rule to bring the two communities together, and today is the 796th day since the conflict started. It is sad that even after two years and two months, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not found time to visit our State or discuss the conflict in Parliament or elsewhere, as if Manipur is not a part of India,' he said. The State Congress president, who represents the Wangkhem constituency in the 60-member Assembly, also slammed the government for claiming Meitei and Kuki-Zo farmers 'working eyeball to eyeball' on the periphery of the Imphal Valley have begun sharing water. 'Water has always been flowing down from the hills to the Valley areas naturally, especially during monsoon,' he said, insisting that the government should show seriousness in thinking about peace to let the communities live together and share resources. 'The government is responsible for what has happened [in Manipur] so far, and it has to take care of what will happen. But this government of the Prime Minister and Home Minister Amit Shah is not serious, not sincere,' Mr. Meghachandra said. Announcing the resettlement plan, the Chief Secretary claimed some of the internally displaced people have started 'going back', their number reducing from the initial 62,000 to 57,000. Those who exited the relief camps moved into prefabricated houses, each measuring 20 feet by 20 feet and worth ₹9.3 lakh. Most of the occupied houses are in the Imphal East and Imphal West districts. The Manipur Police Housing Corporation Limited has been entrusted with constructing these prefabricated units.
Indian Express
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
President's rule failed to maintain peace in Manipur, alleges state Congress chief
Amid protests over concealing the state's name on the windshield of a government bus, Manipur Congress president Keisham Meghachandra alleged that the President's rule has 'failed' to maintain peace in the state. He also claimed Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla, who took charge in January this year, should be recalled by the Centre. The Centre had on February 13 imposed the President's rule in Manipur after Chief Minister N Biren Singh resigned, following a prolonged ethnic violence in the state. The state assembly, which has a tenure till 2027, has been put under suspended animation. In a post on X, Meghachandra, the Wangkhem MLA, alleged, 'Double-engine government had already failed Manipur for the last more than 2 years. President's Rule, too, has failed Manipur. Prime Minister Narendra Modi repeatedly fails Manipur. Home Minister Amit Shah should resign. Manipur governor should be recalled.' The term 'double engine' is used by BJP leaders to refer to the party being in power at the Centre as well as in a state. Manipur Governor had to take a helicopter to fly from Imphal International Airport in order to reach Raj Bhavan, which is around 7 km by road travel from the airport, today. Who instructed Manipur Governor to remove the word 'Manipur' from the Manipur State Transport Corporation… — Keisham Meghachandra Singh (@meghachandra_k) May 26, 2025 The Congress leader's remarks come at a time when the state has been witnessing protests for the last few days over the concealing of the state's name on the windshield of a government bus last week. The protesters have been demanding an apology from the governor for the May 20 incident. The security personnel had stopped the bus at Gwaltabi check post, around 25 km from Imphal, and allegedly forced the Directorate of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) staff to conceal the state's name written on the top of the vehicle's windshield with a piece of white paper. The bus with journalists on board was heading to the Shirui Lily festival in Ukhrul district on May 20 when the incident happened. Referring to the Gwaltabi incident, Meghachandra said, 'Who instructed Manipur Governor to remove the word 'Manipur' from the Manipur State Transport Corporation bus?' To intensify their protest, students and women's groups had on Monday formed a human chain, covering a stretch of six kilometres from Imphal airport to Keisampat, around 200 metres away from the governor's residence. In view of the demonstration, the governor, who had arrived in Imphal from New Delhi on Monday, had taken an Army helicopter to reach Kangla Fort, located around 300 metres from the Raj Bhavan. In a post late on Monday, Meghachandra also said, 'Manipur Governor had to take a helicopter to fly from Imphal International Airport in order to reach Raj Bhavan, which is around 7 km by road travel from the airport, today.' More than 260 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Meiteis and Kuki-Zo groups since May 2023.
