“We’re calling on all parties to help restore peace”: Manipur Governor Anusuiya Uikey ahead of Oppn visit

Imphal (Manipur) [India]: Even as the 21-member delegation of Opposition leaders was due to arrive shortly in Manipur, Governor Anusuiya Uikey on Saturday urged the visiting I.N.D.I.A leaders to contribute to the restoration of peace and order to the violence-hit Northeast.

She also called on all parties and stakeholders help put the state back on track. Earlier, on Saturday, the leaders of the visiting delegation said they would refrain from raising any political issues during their visit and would simply focus on getting a sense of the situation on the ground.

Speaking to reporters after visiting relief centres in Churachandpur, which was the epicentre of the ethnic violence in the state, Governor Uikey said, “People are asking when peace will be restored to the state. I make constant efforts to bring communities and stakeholders together in the interest of restoring peace to the state. We are also calling on all political parties to help us in this effort.”

On the two-day visit by the Opposition delegation, the Manipur Governor said, “I would appeal to them to contribute towards restoring peace to the state.”

After visiting people displaced by the ethnic violence at the Churachandpur relief shelters, the Governor said, “The government will provide compensation to people, to lost family members to the violence and also suffered loss of property. I will do everything possible to bring peace to Manipur and towards the welfare and well-being of the people, across communities.”

During her visit to the relief camps, several dispaced locals asked when peace would return to the state.

The Governor said, “The people here want to return home. I am striving to bring all parties together in the interest of restoring peace to the state.”

Earlier, a 21-member delegation of the Opposition alliance, I.N.D.I.A, boarded a flight to Imphal, saying their two-day visit to violence-hit Manipur will be aimed at assessing “the real situation on the ground”.

Speaking to media before boarding the Manipur flight, Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who is part of the 21-member delegation, said, “The PM hasn’t even made an attempt to visit Manipur as yet. Only after receiving a jolt from the Opposition did the Centre wake up to the situation.”

Earlier, on Saturday, Chowdhury, who heads the Congress in his native West Bengal, said the visit was about understanding the “real situation” in Manipur.

The state has been racked ehtnic strife and violence over an order by the Manipur High Court, asking the state government to consider adding the Meitei community to the list of Scheduled Tribes.

The visit follows a chorus from the Opposition members for a debate on the Manipur situation and a statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which has resulted in repeated disruptions and adjournments in both Houses of Parliament.

Gaurav Gogoi, a Congress Lok Sabha member from Assam, who tabled a motion of no confidence against the Centre over the Manipur situation, told media, “We wish to place the concerns and plight of the people of Manipur before the Parliament. Those who used to talk about one India have split Manipur along ethnic lines.”

The 21-member Opposition delegation, from both Houses, includes Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Gaurav Gogoi, K Suresh and Phulo Devi Netam of the Congress; Rajiv Ranjan Lalan Singh of the JDU; Sushmita Dev from Trinamool Congress; Kanimozhi from DMK; Sandosh Kumar of the CPI; AA Rahim from CPI(M), Manoj Kumar Jha of RJD; Javed Ali Khan of SP; Mahua Maji of JMM; PP Mohammed Faizal of NCP; Aneel Prasad Hegde of JDU, ET Mohammed Basheer of IUML; NK Premachandran of RSP; Sushil Gupta of AAP; Arvind Sawant of Shiv Sena (UBT); D Ravikumar of VCK; Thiru Thol Thirumavalavan also of VCK; and Jayant Singh of the RLD.