The leaders of the Opposition's INDIA bloc, who are on a visit to the strife-torn Manipur, met Manipur governor Anusuiya Uikey at Raj Bhawan in Imphal on Sunday. The delegation also submitted a memorandum on their observations to the Governor.
The 21-member delegation arrived in the state on Saturday to meet the victims of the months-long ethnic riots and study the ground situation.
Addressing reporters outside Raj Bhavan after the meeting, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said if the Manipur ethnic conflict is not resolved soon, it may create security problems for the country. "The Governor heard our observations and agreed to those. She expressed sorrow over the incidents of violence and suggested that an all-party delegation should visit Manipur to talk to people to remove mistrust among communities," Chowdhury added.
He said the visiting MPs will also present their observations on Manipur in Parliament. "We have requested a discussion on Manipur in Parliament as the situation is deteriorating every day," he said.
Congress MP Phulodevi Netam, who visited the rehabilitation camps in Manipur, condemned the lack of facilities being offered to the displaced people. "About 400-500 people are staying in one hall. The State Govt is providing them only daal-chawal, children are not getting anything else to eat the entire day. There is no toilet or bathroom facility. The manner in which people are living in camps is very heart-rending," Netam told reporters.
The INDIA leaders had visited the riot-hit town of Churachandpur in Manipur where they met Kuki leaders and members of the civil society besides ethnic strife victims in the relief camps where they were lodged.
Besides Chowdhury and Congress' deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi, the delegation includes TMC's Sushmita Dev, JMM's Mahua Maji, DMK's Kanimozhi, Jayant Chaudhary of RLD, Manoj Kumar Jha of RJD, N K Premachandran of RSP, JD(U) chief Rajiv Ranjan (Lalan) Singh, Aneel Prasad Hegde (JD-U), CPI's P Sandosh Kumar and CPI(M)'s A A Rahim among others.
Earlier, on Saturday, the Opposition delegation said it aims to bring about "psychological healing" for the people over its two-day visit to the state. The leaders also targetted the BJP Government and said they were willing to accompany Prime Minister Narendra Modi if he ever decides to visit Manipur.
"We have always said that if the Prime Minister wants to lead an all-party delegation here, we would be happy to be a part of it. After all, we all want peace to return to Manipur at the earliest."
The BJP, however, termed the Opposition's Manipur visit as a "show off' and "political to Manipur visit as a "show off' and "political tourism".
