‘Yet to see a roadmap for peace’: Manipur Congress Chief

Manipur Congress unit president Keisham Meghachandra has accused the Centre and the state government of failing to provide a clear plan for restoring peace in the strife-torn state, while expressing disappointment over the Union budget’s lack of provisions for violence-affected residents.

Speaking on the sidelines of the 134th Patriots' Day celebrations at Congress Bhavan, Keisham told reporters that the Union budget hardly contains a special package for rebuilding damaged homes of violence-affected people and internally displaced persons (IDP).

"The budget for development and security should be larger, especially during President’s Rule, but that has not been the case. We are not satisfied with the budget. IDPs are still living in relief camps," he claimed.

"We are also disappointed with the GST amendment as Manipur cannot be compared with the larger states such as UP and Maharashtra, which have better transportation and are more developed with more resources," Keisham added.

The Wangkhem MLA claimed, "We are yet to see a concrete roadmap for the restoration of peace in the state from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. Former chief secretary PK Singh had announced the resettlement of IDPs in three phases by December. However, we have not seen much initiative from the state government to achieve this."

"As a citizen and as a politician, we are not satisfied, as we have no rights and the constitutional laws are not fully implemented in the state. PM Modi is yet to visit the state and enquire about our hardships. Shah is doing whatever he wants," he alleged.