NEW DELHI: The Opposition Congress on Thursday said that after 50 days of death and destruction in Manipur, Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s call for an all-party meeting on Manipur (on June 24) was “too little too late”.
Any effort for peace must take place in Manipur, Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal said in a statement and added that the warring communities must be brought to the discussion table and a political solution arrived at. Such an effort would lack seriousness if it was done sitting in Delhi, Venugopal said.
The government woke up only after UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s address to the people of Manipur on Wednesday, Venugopal claimed.
Venugopal said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s absence from the proposed meeting showed his “cowardice and unwillingness to confront his failures”.
“Even when multiple delegations sought meetings with him (the PM), he had no time for them,” the statement said.
“The Home Minister himself has presided over the situation and made no progress. In fact, things have worsened since his visit. Can we expect genuine peace under his stewardship?” Venugopal asked.
Calling the Biren Singh-led BJP government in the state “partisan”, the statement said the continuation of the partisan state government and non-implementation of President’s Rule in Manipur was a “travesty”.