Centre, state responsible for total breakdown in Manipur: Congress

The Congress on Friday accused the BJP-led governments at the Centre and in Manipur of being responsible for the “total breakdown” of law and order in the state, a day after armed militants attacked and burnt several houses in Naga villages near the India-Myanmar border.

State Congress president O. Ibobi Singh questioned the role of the Assam Rifles, which functions under the Union home ministry and is tasked with guarding the international border in Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland.

Pointing out that Assam Rifles personnel were stationed close to the site of Thursday’s attack, Singh asked why the force had “remained a mute spectator”.

“The Assam Rifles are stationed near yesterday's incident site. Who is in charge of the law-and-order situation in the state? Is it the state government or the Central government? They cannot turn away or escape their responsibility,” he said.

His remarks came a day after heavily armed militants, allegedly from Myanmar, attacked and torched several houses in the border Naga villages of Namlee, Wanglee and Choro in Kamjong district, located less than one kilometre from the International Border.

Ruling Naga Peoples’ Front MLA L. Keishing had claimed the attack was carried out from across the border by the Kuki National Army (Burma) and the Peoples’ Defence Force.

Singh said the nature of the attack pointed to a serious collapse in security irrespective of whether it was an external or internal threat. “Whether it is external aggression as alleged by a ruling party MLA or an internal aggression, it is a total failure of law and order. Recently, two children were killed in a bomb attack in Tronglaobi,” he said.

“We heard that a few unarmed Manipur police personnel were deployed at the site while the militants were heavily armed with sophisticated weapons. This shows the state government is not serious about the people of Kamjong district, whereas the Assam Rifles is just a mute spectator.”

The three-time former chief minister alleged that both the state and Union governments were equally accountable for the continuing violence in the state. “The state and Central governments are equally responsible for what is happening in Manipur,” Singh said.

Manipur has remained tense since ethnic clashes broke out between the Meitei and Kuki communities in May 2023, with the conflict spreading to other communities since then. The violence has so far claimed at least 260 lives and displaced thousands of people across the state.

With PTI inputs