NEW DELHI: Senior Opposition leaders of the INDIA bloc on Wednesday met President Draupadi Murmu and sought her intervention in restoring peace and normalcy in Manipur.
The 31-member delegation, which included 21 MPs who visited the strife-torn state, urged the President to prevail upon the Prime Minister to speak in Parliament about the situation. The delegation was led by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and included several senior leaders of the alliance, including Sharad Pawar and Dr Farooq Abdullah.
In a memorandum submitted to the President, the MPs said, “With a profound sense of loss and anguish, we are humbly submitting this memorandum for your kind intervention so that the extraordinary situation confronting the state of Manipur can be redressed at the earliest and normalcy can be brought in urgently.”
The memorandum demanded that the “accountability for the devastation of the past 92 days must be determined.”
Both the Union government and the state government must fulfil their duty in providing justice to the affected communities, the leaders said. “We implore you to press upon the Prime Minister to urgently address the Parliament on the prevailing situation in Manipur, followed by a detailed and comprehensive discussion on the matter,” the memorandum to the President urged.
Asserting that the law and order situation in Manipur was deteriorating, the memorandum said, “The situation in Manipur has reached a critical point in the last few weeks, witnessing a complete breakdown of law and order. The shocking viral video that surfaced online has left the nation in shell shock, and it is evident that the state administration and police have failed to address the matter promptly.”
“The delayed response of over two months to take cognizance and apprehend the accused has compounded the severity of the issue. Subsequently, it has come to light that the said incident is only one of the several cases of atrocities against women,” it added.
The memorandum said that the MPs who visited the violence-affected areas in Manipur conveyed the message of solidarity with the people. “The impact of the violence has been devastating, with more than 200 lives lost, over 500 injured, and more than 5,000 houses gutted in arson-related incidents. A staggering number of over 60,000 people are displaced and living in dire conditions in relief camps across the state, the memorandum added.
The MPs conveyed to the President that people in relief camps are facing hardships with a shortage of food and relief materials. “They are living in a state of permanent fear and insecurity, and are in need of a secure and just rehabilitation to rebuild their lives,” the leaders said.
'Nominate two Manipuri women to Rajya Sabha'
The Opposition bloc also suggested that President Droupadi Murmu nominate two Manipuri women from different communities to the Rajya Sabha to help rectify the "grievous harm" inflicted on women of the state. Trinamool Congress leader Sushmita Dev made the suggestion when a delegation of the opposition bloc met the President and urged her to ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address Parliament on the situation in strife-torn Manipur.
Dev said nominating two women from different communities from Manipur to the Rajya Sabha would serve as a small measure to rectify the grievous harm and violation inflicted upon the women of the state. "This is the minimum expectation at this time of national tragedy," she said.
Among the opposition members present at the meeting with the President at Rashtrapati Bhawan were Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, JD(U) leader Rajiv Ranjan (Lalan), Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders Arvind Sawant and Sanjay Raut, Trinamool leaders Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Derek O'Brien.
(With additional inputs from PTI)