The Manipur and central governments should be ashamed of for taking alternative arrangement for displaced people to cast vote in the coming Lok Sabha election instead of taking necessary steps for the Internally Displaced People to return to their own place, Khwairamband Ima Keithel Joint Coordinating committee convenor Laishram Ongbi Memma said on Sunday.
Memma told the media at Khwairamband Ima Market on Sunday that the women vendors of Khwairamband Ima Market welcome the government for initiating an alternative arrangement to cast vote for IDPs.
However, the government should be ashamed of not being able to take necessary steps for returning the IDPs to their respective homes.
For the last over 10 months, both the governments have not been able to make arrangements for the IDPs to return to their homes but they have alternative arrangements for the IDPs to cast a vote. The women vendors are not against the upcoming Lok Sabha election but the government should prioritise peace instead of election so that each and every citizen can enjoy their voting rights, she added.
She also stated that though the government arrested some individuals in connection with the missing case of two students, there is no trace of the bodies of the two. The government should arrest the foreign militants who are involved in the present crisis, Memma demanded.
Co-convenor of the committee, Yumnam Ibeyaima questioned how long the IDPs will have to suffer at relief camps and prefabricated houses by selling some candles, washing powders, dishwash and others. It is not the right time to conduct an election, she said.
The government should prioritize restoring peace so that elections can be conducted peacefully, said Ibeyaima.
