When the Prime Minister Narendra Modi could find time to visit many countries and even travel to various States in India over the last 150 days, why has he not gone to Manipur even once, where the situation was pathetic, asked senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram.
Speaking at a public meeting in Rameswaram on Saturday night, organised by the District Congress Committee (fishermen wing) to celebrate the completion of the first year of the 4,000-km walk of former party president Rahul Gandhi from Kanniyakumari to Kashmir, he said it was very unfortunate that the Manipur situation had not been brought under control.
People were suffering as normal life was affected. Around 60,000 people lived like refugees in their own land and over 600 people were killed in the riots. Many women were harassed and raped. The police (Assam Rifle and Manipur Police) were fighting among each other. There was absolute lawlessness, he charged.
The Congress, he said, blamed the BJP and the Prime Minister for not controlling the Manipur situation. The trouble, which started on May 3, had witnessed law and order problems and even after 150 days (on September 30), the government had done nothing to stop the tragedy.
‘Weak governance’
It was a shame that even after such a long time, the Union government could not restore normalcy. Mr Chidambaram described it as “weak governance”. The wise move for the Prime Minister would be to step down, he suggested.
He further alleged that the BJP had a “hidden agenda” in Manipur with political overtones. He charged that the BJP neglected the appeals of Kuki and Naga people with the sole intention of retaining the Hindu Meitei population. The Manipur situation was horrible and was disturbing to the people in the nation. Despite the Opposition raising the issue many times, the Prime Minister had not bothered to listen, he said.
The time had come for the people to think and show the door to the BJP in the 2024 election.
The senior Congress leader, who was entrusted with Finance, Home and other portfolios in the Union government in the past, said the BJP claimed to give two-crore jobs every year. With nine years completed (since 2014), the joblessness had hit an all-time high, he alleged.
Quoting data released by the Ministry concerned and the Reserve Bank of India, he said the unemployment rate was at 8.1 %. While those in the age group of 15-24 years, 22 % were unemployed, among those with degrees like BA/MA the jobless were 42 %.
If the BJP’s claims that it would annually give jobs to two crore people were to be believed, 20 crore youth should have got employment in the last 9-10 years.
Inflation, domestic borrowings
Similarly, he also criticised the Union government for its failure to contain the ever-rising inflation and the domestic borrowings. When onion prices hit the roof, showing scant respect for the people, the Union Finance Minister commented that “I don’t take onions...”.
In every household, the borrowings had gone up manifold. The income levels had gone down. As a result, savings too had drastically declined. This is real, Mr. Chidambaram said adding the data was released by the government and not by him or the Congress.
Appreciating, Mr. Gandhi, he said the Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanniyakumari to Kashmir last year was remarkable. The walk had awakened the nation. The common people praised Mr. Gandhi for reaching to their doorsteps. Such a Himalayan achievement should not just end there, but it should show the doors to the BJP and a new government should be in power in May 2024.
He claimed that the BJP and the RSS leaders were bent upon creating ruckus in the country. Having come to know that their victory chances were bleak in 2024, the leaders had taken up the communal angle. By creating a rift between Hindus and Christians, Hindus and Muslims, the BJP was determined to snatch power, he alleged. The recent speech by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat showed that they would be “aggressive” in spreading false rumours in the coming months, he further claimed.
The Congress leader said if the people wanted peace and harmony, they should ignore the BJP and its allies, who were creating confrontation between various sections of people in society and Manipur was a classic example, he added.
Earlier, he hoisted the party flag on a specially made 70-foot high pole.
