Congress accuses Centre of mishandling Manipur, links five years of governance to security and economic crisis

The Congress on January 18 accused the BJP-led Centre of mismanaging Manipur over the past five years, alleging that its approach has pushed the state into an economic and security crisis, including along the international border.

Addressing reporters on arrival in Imphal, Christopher Tilak, the All India Congress Committee in-charge of Manipur, said the situation reflected prolonged administrative failure. “What has happened in Manipur is very unfortunate. For the last five years, they have irresponsibly handled the state. The economy is in a big disaster, and now security, including that of the border, is a problem,” he said.

Manipur has been reeling from ethnic violence since May 2023, with clashes between the valley-based Meitei community and Kuki groups from the hills leaving at least 260 people dead and thousands displaced. The violence has severely disrupted normal life and economic activity across the state.

The northeastern state, which shares a border with Myanmar, has been under President’s Rule since February 2025, following the resignation of N Biren Singh. Singh, a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party, first assumed office in 2017 and returned to power after the 2022 Assembly elections.

Questioning the Centre’s commitment to restoring normalcy, Tilak said that during his previous visit, underground groups had called a bandh despite President’s Rule being in force. He described this as evidence that the Centre was “not serious with Manipur”.

Tilak is in the state to lead the Congress’s ‘MGNREGA Bachao Sangram’ campaign and said he would spend a week travelling through both hill and valley districts. “I have come to take the protest across all Assembly constituencies in Manipur. During my week-long stay, I will be travelling in both hill and valley areas,” he said.

The Indian National Congress announced the nationwide campaign on January 3, to be held from January 10 to February 25, demanding the withdrawal of what it calls structural changes to the rural employment scheme, restoration of MGNREGA as a rights-based law, and greater authority for panchayats.

Tilak said the party opposed “the change of MGNREGA’s name and other structural alterations”, adding that the scheme, introduced in 2005 by the UPA government, was aimed at empowering the rural poor, particularly women, across the country.