Congress blames Centre, state for ‘failure’ to use constitutional powers in Manipur

Congress’s Manipur unit on Thursday alleged that the continuing violence in Manipur is the result of both the state and Union governments failing to properly exercise their constitutional powers to address the crisis.

The remarks came a day after three church leaders were shot dead in Kangpokpi district and another civilian was killed in Noney district in what was suspected to be a retaliatory attack.

Addressing a press conference, state Congress president and former chief minister O. Ibobi Singh condemned the killings and said the violence reflected a collapse of governance and law enforcement in the state.

“We strongly condemn the killings. Three persons belonging to one community were killed on Wednesday morning, while a civilian of another community was killed in the evening in what appears to be a retaliatory act,” Singh said.

Questioning the Centre’s handling of the situation, Singh said the Union government appeared to be remaining a “mute spectator” despite repeated incidents of violence.

“How long will the Central government remain a mute spectator to the series of killings happening in the state?” he asked.

“It appears as if the state has been left on its own, and the different communities are being allowed to engage in killings,” the three-time former chief minister added.

‘Law and order completely collapsed’

Referring to the ethnic conflict that erupted in Manipur in May 2023, Singh recalled earlier observations made by the Supreme Court of India regarding the law-and-order situation in the state.

“Even the Supreme Court had previously said the law and order in the state has completely collapsed,” he said.

The Congress leader appealed to communities to reject retaliatory violence and stressed that revenge attacks would not resolve the crisis.

“Killings between communities will never bring any solution. It's time to shun revengeful acts,” he said, reiterating that maintaining law and order was fundamentally the responsibility of the government.

Singh further alleged that constitutional powers available to both the state and Union governments were not being properly utilised to restore peace and normalcy.

“Constitutional powers given to the government are not being rightly used by both the state and union governments. This, I believe, is the cause of the unrest,” he said.

Manipur has witnessed prolonged ethnic violence between the Meitei and Kuki communities since May 2023, resulting in the deaths of at least 260 people and displacement of thousands across the state.