The Manipur Congress on Sunday said Union Home Minister Amit Shah owed an apology to the people for his remarks on Manipur history. It demanded clarification from the Union minister, Chief Minister Biren Singh and state BJP president for distorting Manipur history.
Addressing mediapersons in Imphal on Sunday, Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president K Meghachandra likened Amit Shah to modern Shantidas Gosai for his remarks on Manipur history during his visit to the state on January 6, claiming that the descendants of Manipur are sons of Arjun.
Amit Shah evoked the 3000-year-old history of Manipur and said that Arjuna of Mahabharat married from Manipur and their sons participated in the battle of Kurukshetra.
Stressing that such misinterpretation and falsification of Manipur's history is unacceptable, he said Amit Shah owes an apology to the people of Manipur.
There was also defection of the history of Manipur by the chief minister who said that Krishna married Meitei Ningol. BJP tried to take Manipuri to Hindutva, the BJP’s RSS vision, he added.
Former chief minister and Congress Legislature Party leader O Ibobi said that the inauguration done during the one-day visit by Amit Shah can be applauded but still has not lived up to the wants of the opposition party and the people.
Ibobi said that the previous projects started during the Congress rule are being completed by the BJP government and credits taken.
Regarding the home minister's speech on Manipur history, Ibobi said he hopes the historians of Manipur will put up the fact. History should not be contradicted, misinterpreted or else it will defect Manipur, the opposition leader said.
Ibobi said it is a good joke that the BJP claims the Congress government did not do anything for the state and that before the BJP government came, the state lacked infrastructure.
“RIMS was established during the Congress period and from that time many outsiders came to the institute for study. NIT was established during the Congress period and still many outside students come for study,” Ibobi said and asked what is new in that for the BJP to claim that students now don’t go outside anymore for studies. What pride is it in there, he added.
Ibobi also claimed that the Act East Policy has not brought any changes in the state. It was stated that the Look East Policy was only looking, not acting and now what about Act East Policy, asked Ibobi, stating he has seen no changes.
The former CM also stated that many projects and developmental works were in process during the Congress reign but were not completed. The construction of pony statue was under Integrated Mega Tourism Project that started during the Congress period, he said and added that the statue alone will not preserve nor protect the pony.
Questioning further if the Marjing polo statue is enough to help preserve pony in the state, Ibobi said that construction of statue and conservation should be taken up simultaneously.
Ibobi further questioned why disturbed area tag is not remove fully from the state if the BJP claims that the law-and-order condition of the state is good and there is no insurgency issue. Is it due to the Act East Policy that the special category status of Manipur has been removed but not the disturbed area tag, Ibobi questioned again.
Manipur has no resources despite having its Special Category status removed and the current Act East Policy has not changed anything despite the name changed from Look East Policy that was given by the Congress with a vision for development of Manipur and the NE when connected with South Eastern Countries.
He expressed concern for the future of Manipur, stating that drug problem in Manipur is increasing and even a factory or industry of drugs may have been established in the state as plantation of poppy is wide.
During the Congress period there was transportation of illegal drugs through Myanmar or South East Asia. There was an issue of shifting cultivation that caused destruction of hill terrain but now large-scale poppy plantations are destroying and clearing the hills. It is time to discuss it properly to save the future, he added.
