False...: BJP vs Congress as Manipur sees fresh violence

Bharatiya Janata party Janata Party president J P Nadda on Friday accused the Congress of pushing an "incorrect, false and politically" motivated narrative on the issue of Manipur unrest, as he hit back at Mallikarjun Kharge for seeking President Droupadi Murmu's intervention and alleging the Centre's complete failure in defusing the crisis.

IMAGE: BJP Chief president J P Nadda and Congress Chief Mallikarjun Kharge. Photograph: ANI Photo

In a rejoinder to Kharge, Nadda claimed the repercussions of the Congress's "abject failure" in dealing with local issues in Manipur when it was in power are being felt even today.

The Congress hit back at Nadda, saying his letter to Mallikarjun Kharge is a "4D exercise - denial, distortion, distraction, and defamation".

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "Congress President Kharge ji wrote to the President of India on Manipur. Apparently to counter that letter, the BJP President has now written to the Congress President."

"Naddaji's letter is, not surprisingly, full of falsehoods and is a 4D exercise - denial, distortion, distraction, and defamation," he said in a post on X.

The people of Manipur are yearning for normalcy, peace, and harmony to return to the state at the earliest, Ramesh said.

"Towards this end they are asking four simple questions: When will the PM visit the state? How much longer will the CM continue to be inflicted on the state, when a majority of MLAs are not in his support? When will a full-time Governor for the state be appointed? When will the Union Home Minister take responsibility for his abject failures in Manipur?" Ramesh said.

In his letter, Nadda told Kharge what is shocking is how repeated attempts are being made by the Congress party to sensationalise the situation in Manipur, he told Kharge.

He said Kharge seemed to have forgotten that not only did his government legitimise the illegal migration of foreign militants to India, the then home minister P Chidambaram had signed treaties with them.

These known militant leaders fleeing their country to avoid arrest were wholeheartedly endorsed and encouraged to carry on their destabilising efforts, Nadda claimed.

"This complete failure of India's security and administrative protocols under your government is one of the major reasons why militant and habitually violent organisations are attempting to destroy the hard-won peace in Manipur and push it back several decades into the age of anarchy," he said.

Unlike the Congress, the BJP-led NDA government will not allow this to happen at any cost, he added.

He said the governments at the Centre and in Manipur have been working to stabilise the situation and protect people since the initial violence.

The entire government machinery is devoted to bringing back peace and harmony to Manipur, he said, stressing that the BJP's commitment to resolving the situation quickly as probe into the incidents of violence are being carried out by the NIA, "one of the most efficient agencies" in the country.

Nadda said he felt compelled to respond to the incorrect, false and politically motivated narrative being pushed against the government and which Kharge's words fail to camouflage.

Kharge and his party seems to have conveniently forgotten the complete failure of government machinery and the ill-advised strategies adopted by the Congress governments both at the Centre and state during similar incidents in the early 90s and during the UPA era, he said.

The North East region has witnessed a complete transformation in every sector be it economy, security, healthcare, education or access to growth opportunities under the Modi government, he claimed.

People have endorsed its work by repeatedly putting their faith in the stability of double-engine NDA governments over the false promises of the Congress and its allies, he said.

He said, "From more than 10 historical peace accords to unprecedented connectivity, our governments are truly bringing the people of North East closer."

In Manipur alone, the percentage of people suffering from multidimensional poverty has reduced from over 20 per cent in 2013 to just over 5 per cent in 2022, he added.

He told Kharge, "Yet, ignoring these developments you and your party have chosen to use the North East and its people to rake up political mileage and peddle your nefarious agendas. I wish to remind you that under Congress rule, Manipur witnessed one of the bloodiest periods in history."

In addition to the black period of the 90s when thousands were killed and lakhs displaced due to rampant violence, in 2011 alone Manipur witnessed a complete blockade for more than 120 days, he noted.

Petrol and LPG prices were nearly four-times higher than the rest of the country and losses of crores of rupees were being suffered by the exchequer every day, he said.

The state was marked by thousands of fake encounters, he alleged.

Nadda claimed that this pattern of Congress leaders endorsing and encouraging a nexus of foreign forces looking to derail India's progress is truly worrying.

"As a result of this failure to recognise the maleficent intentions of these individuals, your party is often seen matching them step-for-step.

Whether this failure is an unfortunate blind spot resulting from the Congress' thirst for power or part of a carefully designed strategy to divide the people and sideline our democracy, is what our nation deserves to know," he said.

Nadda also reminded Kharge of the "disrespectful and irresponsible manner" in which the Congress acted when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was addressing the issue of violence in Manipur in Parliament earlier this year.

In his two-page letter to the President, Kharge had on Tuesday accused both the Union and the state government of having "completely failed" in restoring peace and normalcy in Manipur during the last 18 months, seeking her intervention.

He claimed that people have lost confidence in the governments. Kharge said that the violence has claimed more than 300 human lives, including women, children and babies.

"The deteriorating law and order in Manipur has internally displaced nearly a lakh of human population rendering them homeless and forcing them to live in different relief camps," he said, adding the agony continues unabated.