New Delhi: The BJP on Friday attacked Home
Minister P Chidambaram over the Manipur crisis, alleging that
his unilateral decision to allow NSCN-IM leader T Muivah to
visit the state had created tension there and demanded that
that the permission to the Naga leader be withdrawn.
"The unilateralism of the Home Minister has once again
created tension. Earlier, he had announced creation of a
separate Telangana state without taking the Andhra Pradesh
Government into confidence. This time, he allowed Muivah to
visit his village in Manipur without asking the state
government for its view," BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar
said here.
A four-member BJP delegation led by Javadekar also
meet Chidambaram and demanded that territorial integrity
of Manipur be protected.
"We told him that government must ensure and give a
promise that territorial integrity (of Manipur) would be
maintained," he told agency.
Manipur is facing economic blockade by supporters of
Muivah after he was unable to visit his ancestral village in
the state due to objections by the state government.
Javadekar said the party demanded that National
Highway no 39 and 53 be opened immediately and adequate
supplies of essential commodities be ensured so that prices
come down.
"We also discussed issues about threat to
non-Manipuris," the BJP leader said, adding that the "Home
Minister has assured us that appropriate actions will be taken
on our demands."
"If things don`t move further, we may also meet the
Prime Minister," Javadekar said.
The party demanded that permission to Muivah to visit
Manipur be withdrawn to defuse the situation.
Javadekar said the Home Minister took the decision
despite the fact that NSCN-IM wants four districts of that
state to be part of the `Greater Nagalim` demanded by it.
"P Chidambaram is an expert in creating problem...he
is an expert in converting peace into crisis," the BJP
spokesperson said.
Javadekar, along with BJP Vice-President Bijoya
Chakravarti and fellow spokesperson Tarun Vijay, had visited
Manipur yesterday.
The BJP leader said while the party was not against
talks with the Naga outfit and its various factions, it wants
the Centre to assure that the territorial integrity of Manipur
and other neighbouring states is not challenged.
He also accused the state government of "failing to
live up to the challenge following a month-long blockade by
Naga Students` Federation (NSF)."
Dubbing the NSF as a front of NSCN-IM, the BJP MP said
blockade of NH 39 has resulted in a major food and fuel crisis
for Manipur.
"The state government has not done anything to use NH
53 to bring in essential supplies and end the four-month-old
strike by government employees," he said.
It was the NDA which had engaged NSCN in talks to find
a peaceful solution to their demands.
NSCN (IM), one of the oldest and powerful rebel groups
in the Northeast, is demanding `greater Nagaland` comprising
Naga populated areas of adjoining states. The demand has been
opposed by Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh governments.
PTI
