Centre, state responsible for total breakdown of law and order in Manipur: Congress

The BJP-led governments at both the Centre and the state are responsible for the total breakdown of law and order in Manipur, the Congress claimed on Friday, a day after armed militants attacked and burnt several houses in Naga near the India-Myanmar border.

The BJP-led governments at both the Centre and the state are responsible for the ''total breakdown'' of law and order in Manipur, the Congress claimed on Friday, a day after armed militants attacked and burnt several houses in Naga near the India-Myanmar border. Pointing out that the Assam Rifles, which is controlled by the Union Home Ministry, was responsible for guarding the international border in Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland, state Congress president O Ibobi Singh asked why the force ''remained a mute spectator'' to Thursday's incident. ''The Assam Rifles are stationed near yesterday's incident site. Who is in charge of the law-and-order situation in the state? Is it the state government or the central government? They cannot turn away or escape their responsibility,'' he said. Singh's remarks came a day after heavily armed militants allegedly from Myanmar attacked and burnt several houses at the border Naga villages of Namlee, Wanglee and Choro in Kamjong district, less than a one kilometre from the International Border. The ruling Naga Peoples' Front MLA L Keishing had claimed that the attack was carried out from across the border by the Kuki National Army (Burma) and Peoples' Defence Force. Singh said, ''Whether it is external aggression as alleged by a ruling party MLA or an internal aggression, it is a total failure of law and order. Recently, two children were killed in a bomb attack in Tronglaobi.'' ''We heard that a few unarmed Manipur police personnel were deployed at the site while the militants were heavily armed with sophisticated weapons. This shows the state government is not serious about the people of Kamjong district, whereas the Assam Rifles is just a mute spectator.'' The three-time former chief minister said, ''The state and central governments are equally responsible for what is happening in Manipur.'' Ethnic clashes between Meitei and Kuki communities have left at least 260 people dead and thousands of residents homeless since May 2023.