Cong slams PM Modi over Manipur situation, Kharge demands sacking of 'incompetent' CM

The Congress on Wednesday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Manipur situation, accusing him of inaction and demanding that he sack the BJP's ''incompetent'' chief minister as a first step to control the turmoil.

The opposition party alleged that Modi was not concerned about the people of Manipur but his image, and was busy campaigning for elections while the situation in the state ''has gone from bad to worse''.

In a post on X, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that the northeastern state has turned into a ''battlefield'' because of the BJP and violence against women and children has been 'weaponised'.

His remarks came after a clash broke out in the Singjamei area of Imphal on Tuesday night between RAF personnel and locals protesting the killing of two students, who had been missing since July 6.

The security personnel lobbed tear gas shells and fired rubber bullets at the protesters and lathi-charged them, leaving 45 of them, mostly students, injured.

Manipur has been on the edge since ethnic clashes broke out in the state on May 3, when a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the majority Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe status.

''For 147 days, people of Manipur are suffering, but PM Modi does not have time to visit the state. The horrific images of students being targeted in this violence have once again shocked the entire nation,'' Kharge said.

''It is now apparent that violence against women and children was weaponised in this strife. The beautiful state of Manipur has been turned into a battlefield, all because of the BJP,'' he said.

''High time, PM Modi sacks BJP's incompetent Manipur chief minister. This would be the first step to control any further turmoil,'' Kharge said.

AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh said on X, ''The entire state of Manipur has been declared 'disturbed'. But the Prime Minister has to remain undisturbed.'' Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters, Congress spokesperson Gaurav Gogoi expressed his party's condolences to the families of the two students.

''Our demand is that the criminals should be caught as soon as possible and the government should take concrete action against them,'' he said, adding that in this hour of grief, they stand with the students, teachers and every citizen of Manipur.

The entire country is feeling the pain of Manipur today, he said and accused the state government of trying to ''suppress'' the voice of students through lathicharge and tear gas.

''The prime minister of the country has shown his back to Manipur. The violence started in Manipur about five months ago, but PM Modi has not gone there till date.

''Has the country made Narendra Modi the prime minister just for publicity and inaugurations? We want to know how many times PM Modi himself has talked to CM Biren Singh in the last five months,'' he asked.

''How much more evidence does PM Modi need? When will he order that the chief minister of Manipur should resign? The BJP government in Manipur has failed to save women and children. Neither the soldiers nor the policemen are safe there,'' Gogoi told reporters.

He demanded that the prime minister call a meeting of all parties and ''we all together find a solution to the problem of Manipur''.

''If journalists want to show the truth then an FIR is filed against them. When the truth started appearing on the internet, it was shut down for 5 days. How long will this continue,'' he said.

''We are still ready for an all-party delegation to go to Manipur and find a solution to the violence there. Stop showing your back to the people of Manipur and show some courage and face the situation,'' he said.

He said the BJP and RSS should ''end their politics of hatred and division'' and help bring an end to this violence in Manipur.

''I feel both the Centre and state have failed and both the chief minister and home minister have failed... the prime minister should take responsibility and direct CM N Biren Singh to resign,'' he asserted.

Congress leader P Chidambaram said the situation in Manipur has gone from bad to worse and no section of people has confidence in the state government or the chief minister.

''In fact, the CM is the problem because of his incompetence and bias. The first step toward restoring normalcy in Manipur is to remove the government and the chief minister,'' he said on X.

''Ethnic cleansing has spread from the capital to the districts whether they are dominated by the Meiteis or the Kukis,'' he claimed.

The Congress has been targeting the government over the Manipur violence and asking why the prime minister hasn't visited the strife-torn state yet.

''It is also clear that PM Modi is not concerned about the people of Manipur, he is only concerned about his image. He is just busy with campaigning for elections,'' the Congress said in a post in Hindi on X.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)