AAP seeks transparency on dialogue with Kuki bodies

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday slammed the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre for its inability to restore peace and normalcy in Manipur which has been plagued by violent crisis for the last more than two years.
Addressing a news conference here at Manipur Press Club, Imphal, AAP northeast in-charge Rajesh Sharma said that so long was the BJP exists, not only the people of Manipur but the entire country would not be able to live in peace.
He said that the failure on the part of the Central government to translate into action the assurances it has given to the people was behind the prolonging of the violent crisis unfolding in Manipur.
The inability esnure free movement of people on the national highways in Manipur was a big failure of the BJP government at the Centre to deliver constitutional rights to the people of the state, he alleged.
He slammed the BJP while asserting that the people of not only Manipur but also the entire country would not be able to live in peace so long as the party (BJP) exists.
He alleged that BJP is one such party which is violent where it exists. The only work of the party is creating violence.
“We called this party as “Jagara Party”, Sharma said while alleging that the party was created in violence sometimes based on religion, sometimes on caste differences.
“Until the BJP is in existence, there will not be peace in the country,” he said, calling upon the people of the state to take a firm pledge to eliminate the party from the soil of the state.
The AAP northeast in-charge said that his party stood for the people of Manipur and will continue to do so in the future too.
He claimed that the AAP has been exerting pressure on the Central government for taking up decisive actions to restore normalcy in the state in the Parliament as well as outside the Parliament. Attending the news conference, coordinator of AAP Manipur unit Bishwanath Thingam demanded transparency on dialogues between Kuki base CSOs and militant groups under suspension of operation (SoO) and the government of India.
The party alleged that various issues arising after the halt in the gunfights suggested that the Central government was attempting to deliver a masterstroke to the people of Manipur.
Sharma also questioned the reason behind the Central government’s inability to drive out illegal immigrants from the state.
He said that the Union home ministry should maintain transparency in the dialogues with the Kuki base CSOs and militants under SoO agreement.
The coordinator questioned why the Union home ministry could not drive out the alleged illegal immigrants even though it (the ministry) initially claimed that they (illegal immigrants) were behind the violent crisis unfolding in the state.
He alleged that the Union home ministry kept on changing its narratives on the origin of the crisis unfolding in the state since May 2023.
Initially they alleged illegal immigrants were behind the crisis but now they said something different.
Relevant to the Manipur conflict, the Union home ministry was holding peace dialogues with both Meitei and Kuki based CSOs.
Currently, the ministry is holding dialogue with the Kuki militants under SoO truce. However, the ongoing dialogue lacked transparency which is a very much needed for bringing lasting peace in the state.
“There should be transparency on what was being discussed and what had been agreed on,” he said.
The coordinator added that the Central government should not make the Meitei and the Kuki as the escaped goat taking advantage of the crisis that has been plaguing the state for the last more than two years to get what they (the Centre) wanted.
The AAP Manipur coordinator, then, reiterated the party’s firm stand on the territorial integrity of Manipur, saying that the party, at any cost, stood against any agreement which would infringe the territorial integrity of Manipur.
He, then, urged the Central government to bring an end to the crisis unfolding in the state at the earliest and deliver the constitutional rights of being citizens of a democratic country.