The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) on Thursday condemned chief of army staff general Upendra Dwivedi’s remark on the ongoing violence in Manipur.
COCOMI urged people of Manipur to stage a meira (torch) rally at 8 pm on Friday in protest against the army chief’s remark.
Speaking to the media, COCOMI coordinator Thokchom Somorendro alleged the Indian Government for plotting different forms of war strategies upon Manipur, after the state merged into India in 1949.
He recalled army chief Upendra Dwivedi’s statement in a TV interview that no armed militants from Myanmar entered Manipur.
In this regard, he pointed out the existing discrepancies in the statements given by political leaders on the Manipur issue. He recalled home minister Amit Shah’s statement that conflict in Manipur conflict is due to illegal immigrants. Amit Shah again stated that the issue is a communal conflict, said Somorendro, pointing out the different versions of the issue as described. Like a politician, the army chief is also making random statements on Manipur, he said.
Somorendro alleged home minister and defence minister of plotting to wage a war within the state, stating that the same plot is being implemented by security advisor and DGP, Manipur.
He cited the example of the intel concerning the entry of 900 armed militants into Manipur.
At first, the security advisor himself confirmed the sounding of the alert, following a circulated notice, he said. After some days, both the security advisor and DGP declared that reports of the entry of 900 armed militants in Manipur are implausible, Somorendro claimed.
He lamented that the Manipur state government had been made powerless and used a shield.
“If anything goes wrong, then the blame is put upon the state government,” he said.
In the case of drone bombings, the army chief said that there was no drone bombing or infiltration of armed foreign militants in Manipur, Somorendro said, adding his remarks were extremely unfortunate.
“We went to the UN, seeking justice, but the army chief said that we should not go there,” said Somorendro, expressing it was highly unfortunate.
“We are afraid now. We do not know whether the India government is planning to separate Manipur into divisions. Why is the security advisor silent? Is he involved in playing a plot?” Somorendro asked.
He alleged that the Central government is trying to separate Manipur into parts, and used militants to wagie a war in Manipur. People of the state are confused on how the Government of India is viewing the violence in Manipur, he added.
