Imphal, July 09: The delegation of Opposition INDIA visited the relief camps in Churachandpur district and interacted with the locals and civil society groups on Saturday.
The 20-member parliamentary delegation from opposition INDIA arrived in Imphal on Saturday to assess the ongoing ethnic violence in Manipur, which has been ravaged by the Meitei-Kuki conflict for close to 3 months, resulting in loss of over 160 lives and injuries to over 600 people.
The delegation, representing 16 parties, is scheduled to visit valley districts after concluding their visit to hill districts to engage with affected communities before departing for Delhi on Sunday.
The delegation will also likely call on the Manipur Governor, Anusuiya Uikey.
After arriving at Imphal airport, the delegation divided into two groups with the first one leaving for Churachandpur immediately via chopper. The second group interacted with the media before also leaving to visit another camp in Churachandpur via chopper.
Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi told media that the first group will be vising camps in Moirang after concluding Churachandpur visit. The second group, of which he is a part of, will also be going to Churachandpur but to a different area. They will then return to Imphal and visit camps in Imphal East.
Urging the people of Manipur to shun violence and bring back the atmosphere of peace, JD(U) MP, Lalan Singh, said, “Entire INDIA is here and we have come to assess the situation of Manipur with the message that we are with the people of Manipur and we appeal to all the communities…. to live in Manipur like a brotherhood atmosphere… Manipur should come to peace and with this motto we have come here to assess the situation and we appeal to all Manipur people to back out from the violence and live peacefully with brotherhood.”
On a question of safeguarding the territorial integrity of Manipur, Singh claimed that the Government of India is not concerned about Manipur and they have been asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address the Parliament on the State’s situation.
“Govt of India is not concerned about Manipur. And this is the reason that we are demanding from the first day of the Parliament session that the Prime Minister should come and give a suo moto statement regarding Manipur,” he said.
The Congress and other opposition parties are demanding the imposition of President’s Rule in Manipur and discussions in the Parliament under relevant rules, 184 and 267 in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, respectively.
The 20-member delegation comprises MPs from both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, including Sushmita Dev, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Gaurav Gogoi, Rajiv Ranjan Singh, Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, and others.
In June, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, accompanied by Congress General Secretary K.C. Venugopal and Ajoy Kumar, who oversees several northeastern states, visited Manipur.
