I.N.D.I.A flying to Manipur

A delegation of 20 MPs of the opposition alliance Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) will be reaching violence-torn Manipur on Saturday, July 29 for a two-day visit to assess the ground situation and make recommendations to the government and Parliament.

The delegation comprises Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Gaurav Gogoi and Phulo Devi Netam from Congress, Sushmita Dev from Trinamool Congress, Kanimozhi Karunanidhi from Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Manoj Kumar Jha from Rashtriya Janata Dal, Sushil Gupta from Aam Aadmi Party, Javed Ali Khan from Samajwadi Party, Arvind Sawant from Shiv Sena (UBT), among others.

"Delegation of Parliamentarians of INDIA coalition is on two-day Manipur tour from today. Here, they will meet the victims of violence, and gain awareness on their condition. INDIA wants Modi government to pay attention to Manipur and do something for the state," Congress tweeted from its official handle with an image of the delegation at Delhi Airport.

The delegation will also call on Manipur governor Anusuiya Uikey on Sunday, July 30. The details of the united front’s first visit to the state were shared by Congress MP Naseer Hussain during a press conference at the AICC headquarters in Delhi.

Ahead of the visit on Friday, July 28, Congress deputy leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi called for an inquiry under a retired Supreme Court judge into the violence in Manipur.

"The BJP wants to give the picture that everything is fine in Manipur but it is not so with violence continuing. That is why we want that an inquiry should be conducted under a retired Supreme Court judge as to how did the state government fail, how did people got access to weapons in this quantity, what was the administration doing," Gogoi told PTI outside the Parliament.

He added, "The chief minister (N Biren Singh) himself admits that there are more than 100 FIRs. Why was the administration sleeping for two months. There should be an inquiry under a retired Supreme Court judge and all INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) MPs will go to Manipur and find out the truth and will put forward that truth before Parliament."

Trinamool Congress' Dev said the opposition delegation wants to give the message that "we are with the people of Manipur".

"We are concerned, we want peace to return...the government has failed, so we want to go there and see what solution can be found," she said.

Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) leader NK Premchandran said the intent of the visit is to have a first-hand information about the happenings in the state. "The violence is still going on so we would like to have first-hand information and suggest some solutions and recommendations to the government and Parliament before the discussion comes there," he said.

"Our aim is to restore peace and harmony in Manipur again. There the victims should be helped and people should be rehabilitated. We will raise these issues there. We will meet the Governor of Manipur and inform her about the situation," Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury told reporters.

The opposition bloc had been demanding that a delegation of their leaders be allowed to visit the state but till now they had been denied permission in view of the situation there.

Opposition parties have been urging the BJP-led Centre to take action on the situation in the north eastern state since violence began on May 3 — between the Kuki and Meitei communities. At least 150 people have been killed and over 50,000 have been displaced so far.