GUWAHATI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said a conspiracy was on to alter the demography of Manipur but the BJP will not allow the state’s disintegration. Addressing a rally in Imphal to seek votes for the BJP’s Inner Manipur candidate Thounaojam Basanta Kumar Singh, he promised that the BJP would secure the state.
“The Congress talks about division wherever it goes. It partitioned the country. Even now, the Congress people want to divide the country on the lines of north and south India. It has prepared an agenda to divide Manipur. But let me tell you, we will not allow Manipur to be divided,” Shah told the crowd.
“I know a conspiracy is on to alter the demography of the small state through infiltration (illegal migration). The (India-Myanmar) Free Movement Regime was misused for the smuggling of narcotics. We have scrapped it. We decided to fence the Myanmar
border and the work has started. We will secure Manipur,” he said. Referring to the ethnic violence involving the Meiteis and Kukis, he said the priority of the Modi government would be to restore peace in the state by talking to all sections of society.
“For six years, nothing happened in Manipur. Then, there was violence. I want to tell the valley and the hills that Modi ji’s priority in the coming days will be to establish peace. No matter how much one tries, we will not allow Manipur to be disintegrated. The Modi government is committed to bringing peace by talking to both communities,” Shah said.
Stating that Modi visited the Northeast 70 times since becoming the PM, he said the Congress has no idea that smaller states in the region are the soul of India.
He said bandhs and blockades were common in Manipur when the Congress was in power and alleged the Ibobi Singh-led previous Congress government was engaged in staged encounters of “hundreds of people”.
“Altogether 750 people were killed in the Naga-Kuki conflict, 100 were killed in the Meitei-Pangal conflict and 325 were killed in the Kuki-Paite conflict,” Shah pointed out.
“This election is to make Modi ji the PM for the third time. The Manipur votes will show people are with whom. This election is not between the BJP and the Congress. It is between those who talk about dividing Manipur and those who have kept the state united,” Shah said.
SC junks plea on voting rights of the displaced
The Supreme Court on Monday in its order refused to entertain a plea seeking a direction to the authorities, including the Election Commission (EC), to ensure that those around 18,000 persons who have been displaced due to the ethnic violence in Manipur, should get to exercise their right to vote in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The plea was filed by one, Naulak Khamsuanthang against the EC. A three-judge bench refused to entertain Khamsuanthang’s plea. “Interference of this court, particularly at this belated stage, would cause substantial impediments in the conduct of general elections of Lok Sabha for Manipur,” the top court said.