Chidambaram fails to understand core issues of Manipur: BJP legislator

Imphal, Sep 3 (IANS) BJP legislator from Manipur, Rajkumar Imo Singh on Sunday criticised former Union Minister and Congress leader P. Chidambaram, saying the latter has failed to understand the core issues of the state.

Chidambaram, quoting a media report wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: "... the last 5 Kuki families in Imphal were forcibly removed from their homes by the authorities."

"This means that ethnic cleansing is complete in the Imphal Valley that is dominated by the Meitei people.

"A state government presides over 'ethnic cleansing' and the Central government claims that the government of the state is being carried on in accordance with the Constitution. There can be nothing more shameful than this development. It marks a new low in India's descent into lawlessness."

Reacting to Chidambaram's comments, the BJP legislator said that one-sided representation can never solve any issue, one should be brave enough to tell the real and full story and such statements from a seasoned politician from the Congress is certainly not appropriate to say the least.

Seems our local Manipur Congress leaders are not feeding their central leaders with the correct information, only believing in bringing PR in the state, Singh, son in law of Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, said in the X.

He said: "Were any of the central leaders briefed about issues of illegal migrants, narcotics, cross-border infiltration, insurgent groups breaking ground rules, border fencing, encroachment on reserved forest as none of you spoke about it in Parliament ? It was only HM (Amit Shah) who stated in Parliament the core issues prevailing in the state."

The BJP legislator said that there can never be any solution if we fail to understand the core issues.

"Rather than shaking hands with anti-national Burmese based insurgent groups, giving them Indian passports and giving them a free hand, the then government should have acted thinking about the welfare of the people of the state, and had it been acted upon at that point of time, Manipur would have been much better placed right now with no such issues and tension between groups.”

The BJP MLA addressing the Congress leader, said: "For your kind information, there are Kuki brothers still living in the Imphal area, and many want to come back to their original places before the conflict broke out.

"There is no ethnic cleansing from the valley, if at all there is any ethnic cleansing, it has been done in Moreh and Churachandpur. But the government will ensure in due course of time that people can go back to their original places across the state."