Guwahati: Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee president Keisham Meghachandra Singh on Monday criticised the Centre over a high-level meeting chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah with the state’s Governor, Chief Secretary and Director General of Police, alleging that the deliberations failed to provide a roadmap for peace and normalcy in the violence-hit state.
Addressing the media, Meghachandra said the outcome of the New Delhi meeting was “not favourable for restoring peace in Manipur” and pointed to a fresh incident of violence reported hours later as evidence of continued instability.
He said an IED exploded around 6 am on Monday at Nganukon, injuring two local residents. The incident, he claimed, underscored the failure of the Centre’s approach even after the high-level discussions.
Accusing the central government of lacking the intent to resolve the crisis, the Congress leader alleged that New Delhi was “not interested in bringing peace and normalcy to Manipur” and described the prevailing situation as “of its own making”. He further claimed that the Centre was deliberately prolonging President’s Rule in the state, even at the cost of constitutional principles.
“This amounts to the murder of democracy in Manipur and a gross underestimation of the people’s will,” Meghachandra said, asserting that the people do not want “direct control from Delhi”. He added that continued central intervention without restoring peace was deepening public distrust and political uncertainty.
Meghachandra said that if both the Centre and the state administration failed to bring the situation under control, dissolving the Manipur Assembly and holding fresh elections would be the most democratic course of action. He blamed the BJP for the ongoing violence, calling the party the “architect of the present crisis” and accusing it of pursuing a “divide-and-rule” policy in the state.
He said the Centre must adopt firm and impartial measures on the ground if it was serious about restoring peace, instead of relying on prolonged central rule.