Imphal: The Manipur Congress has sharply criticized the state government, led by Chief Minister N Biren Singh, for blaming the Congress party for the ongoing conflict in the state. Congress leaders have urged the government to stop making unfounded allegations and focus on bringing lasting peace and resolving the crisis.
During a press conference at Congress Bhavan, former Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh expressed his dismay over the government’s repeated attempts to pin the blame on Congress for the current turmoil. He emphasized that instead of engaging in baseless accusations, the government should focus on addressing the conflict at hand.
“Enough is enough. The government’s failure to maintain law and order has caused significant distress among the people. Instead of addressing the situation, they are absurdly blaming the previous Congress government,” Ibobi said.
Ibobi also took issue with the current government’s assertions that the infiltration of illegal immigrants and the signing of the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement with Kuki militants during the Congress regime were the primary causes of the conflict. He clarified that the Congress government had initiated border fencing along the Indo-Myanmar border as early as 2011, and the Indian government had approved Rs 30.96 crore for the project. By 2013-2014, over 4 km of fencing had been completed, but work was halted due to local agitations requiring a re-survey of the boundary line.
“The Congress government started the border fencing project, yet the present government takes all the credit for it,” Ibobi criticized.
Referring to a recent Ministry of Home Affairs report, Ibobi pointed out that Manipur shares a 398 km boundary with Myanmar. The report showed that only 2.733 km of additional fencing was completed from 2014 to 2023, despite the BJP being in power both at the center and in the state. He questioned how the current government could claim to have stopped illegal immigration when the Indo-Myanmar border remains porous along 388 km.
Ibobi also noted that the central government had acknowledged the influx of illegal immigrants into Manipur due to the political crisis in Myanmar since 2021, but the state government continued to blame Congress for this issue. He also raised concerns about the SoO agreement signed with Kuki militants in 2008, stating that if there are violations of the agreement’s ground rules, the current government should take responsibility and address the issue.
The Congress leaders urged the state government to prioritize peace and resolution, instead of continuing to engage in political finger-pointing.
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