"Manipur, Its People Suffering Silently": M Kharge's SOS To President

With the recent spate of killings starting a new cycle of violence in Manipur, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has written to President Droupadi Murmu and sought her intervention to bring peace to the Northeastern state. In his letter, Mr Kharge has said the Centre and the BJP-led state government had "completely failed" to restore normalcy to the state and also slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not visiting Manipur since ethnic violence erupted last year.

"The country has been inflicted with a grave tragedy of extra-ordinary proportions due to the unprecedented turmoil in Manipur for the last 18 months, the ongoing turmoil has taken more than 300 human lives, including women, children and even small babies. It has internally displaced nearly a lakh of human population rendering them homeless and forcing them to live in different relief camps. The agony of the people continues unabated," Mr Kharge has said in the letter.

He has detailed how the unrest has affected Manipur's economy and stepped up inflation. "Businesses are closed down, jobs are getting lost, professionals have left their own homes, essential food items, medicines, essential commodities are in scarcity, national highways are blocked since May of 2023, schools and educational institutions are shut down, internally displaced persons are dying of suicide in relief camps. Manipur and its people are suffering silently, which in turn has taken a huge toll on the mental health of the entire population," the Congress chief has written.

The people of Manipur, he has said, have lost confidence in both the central and state governments and are becoming insecure on their own soil. "With no succor coming from the governments involved, they are finding themselves completely isolated and helpless for more than 540 days now. Indeed, they have lost their faith in the Prime Minister of India and the Chief Minister of the State to protect their lives and properties," Mr Kharge has written in the letter.

He has also drawn a parallel between no visits by the Prime Minister and three trips by Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi.

"You may be aware that since May 2023 despite the demand of the people of Manipur, the Prime Minister has not visited the state. On the other hand, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha has been in Manipur thrice in the last 18 months and I, myself, have visited the state in this period. The refusal of the Prime Minister to visit Manipur is beyond anybody's understanding," he has said.

"I and my Party strongly believe that the deliberate acts of omission and commission, as indeed inordinate inaction on part of both the central and state governments, have resulted in complete lawlessness, absence of rule of law, violations of human rights, compromise of national security and suppression of fundamental rights of citizens of our country. It also amounts to destruction of Right to Life with dignity under Article 19 of the Constitution," the Congress chief has said.

"I consider that it has become constitutionally imperative on part of yourself, Hon'ble Madam, as the President of Republic of India and the custodian of our Constitution to uphold the constitutional propriety and immediately intervene to ensure the protection of lives and properties of our own citizens in Manipur, as enshrined in the Constitution. I am confident that, through your intervention of your esteemed Office, the people of Manipur will again live peacefully in their homes in security with dignity," he has written.