GUWAHATI: Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Tuesday said the state government would take a decision on Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Nyay Yatra’ after reviewing reports from security agencies.
He said the security situation in the state remained critical. “The granting of permission for Rahul Gandhi’s rally is under active consideration. The state government is reviewing the reports of various security agencies,” Singh told journalists.
The Congress has plans to take out the yatra from Manipur on January 14. The foot march will traverse through Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat before concluding at Mumbai in Maharashtra.
The Congress criticised the state government for creating hurdles. It claimed the yatra has nothing to do with politics. “The Congress’ Manipur unit had applied to the chief secretary a week ago seeking permission for the yatra. Today, they are saying they cannot give the sanction and our application has gone to Delhi for approval. Is it the duty of the central government to give approval to a political party programme? Congress general secretary KC Venugopal asked in Guwahati.
He said Gandhi had conducted a yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir by walking 4,000 km and raised the issue of unemployment, price rise etc. “Through this yatra, we are basically focussing on the common man’s issues. The youth of Assam are disappointed and demoralised. The country is facing a huge unemployment problem,” he said.
“We don’t want to politicise the Manipur issue at all by starting it from the state. We need to feel the pulse of the people and give a message that we are with the people of Manipur,” Venugopal said.