New Delhi: With the economic blockade in
Manipur still continuing, BJP on Friday demanded dismissal of the
Congress-led Ibobi Singh government and said an all-party
delegation be sent to the state to talk to the locals and
suggest measures to deal with the issues.
A BJP delegation comprising party MPs Yashwant Sinha
and Prakash Javadekar had visited Manipur earlier this week to
get first-hand information about the difficulties being faced
by the people due to the economic blockade which has lasted
over a 100 days.
"There is a failed government in Manipur which is not
doing anything to ameliorate the sufferings of the people
there. The grim realities there, which are mere stories for us
here, are that prices of essential commodities have
sky-rocketed," Sinha told reporters here.
He alleged that the Ibobi Singh government supports 30
"underground forces" there.
"The Ibobi Singh government should be immediately
dismissed and President`s Rule should be imposed in the state.
The Government of India should take immediate control. The
Centre should act decisively," Sinha said.
A BJP delegation led by Leader of Opposition in Lok
Sabha Sushma Swaraj, her Rajya Sabha counterpart Arun Jaitley
and party president Nitin Gadkari had met Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh sometime back and demanded action.
"The delegation had demanded that an all-party
delegation be sent to Manipur as was done in the case of
Kashmir. This delegation should be sent immediately. It should
spend at least two days there and return before Parliament
session begins on November 22 and tell the government what
should be done," Sinha said.
Some of the people with whom Sinha and Javadekar
interacted with in Manipur suggested that there should be a
highway protection force maintained by the Centre which could
intervene whenever there was any obstruction on the highways.
Welcoming this suggestion, Sinha said while the
government mulls over this, it could deploy in Manipur a
"number of paramilitary forces" at its command.
"Our indifference towards the state must end. Manipur
is an urgent national issue today and should be dealt with as
an over-riding national priority," Sinha said.
BJP, he said, will raise this issue in the forthcoming
Winter Session of Parliament.
"The sufferings of the people of Manipur are unthinkable.
It is not only that those essential commodities are not
available and people have to shell out a fortune for
purchasing them. To access these commodities, people have to
surrender to the black market," Sinha said.
The BJP leader alleged that this state of affairs shows
the "callous attitude and total insensitivity" of the
government.
"The people of Manipur are angry against this inaction
and are asking a straight forward question as to whether the
Centre considers Manipur as a part of India or not?" Sinha
said.
Elections are due in Manipur early next year.
PTI
