New Delhi:

BJP president JP Nadda today slammed his Congress counterpart Mallikarjun Kharge for seeking President Droupadi Murmu’s intervention to restore peace in Manipur, calling it an attempt to “sensationalise” the situation in the northeastern state.

Manipur has been hit by a fresh wave of violence over the last week, in the ongoing cycle of inter-communal clashes that broke out in May last year between the ethnic Meitei and Kuki communities, and led to more than 200 deaths and displaced around 60,000 people.

Mr Kharge on Tuesday wrote to the President and sought her intervention, accusing both the Centre and the state government of having “completely failed” in restoring peace and normalcy in Manipur in the last 18 months.

Mr Nadda, responding to the Congress chief’s charge, insisted that Manipur was still feeling the repercussions of the Congress’s “abject failure” in dealing with local issues when it was in power in the state.

In a three-page letter to Mr Kharge, the Union Minister said the BJP governments at the Centre and in Manipur have been working to stabilise the situation and protect people since the initial violence.

BJP national president JP Nadda writes to Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge over the latter’s letter to President Droupadi Murmu on Manipur violence.

“…What is shocking is how repeated attempts are being made by the Congress party to sensationalise the situation in Manipur.… pic.twitter.com/mFSU6iK4jO

— ANI (@ANI) November 22, 2024

He said Mr 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 even 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,” Mr Nadda wrote.

“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, the BJP leader said.

Mr Nadda also said that he felt “compelled” to respond to the “incorrect, false and politically motivated narrative” being pushed against the government which Mr Kharge’s words fail to camouflage.

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, the BJP chief insisted.

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

“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,” Mr Nadda said.

“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 wrote.

He also reminded Mr 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.

Mr 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”.

What Mallikarjun Kharge Said

Mallikarjun Kharge had written to President Droupadi Murmu, seeking her immediate intervention to ensure that the people of Manipur live “peacefully” in their homes with “dignity”.

In his two-page letter, the Congress chief claimed that the violence has killed more than 300 people, 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”.

“I consider that it has become constitutionally imperative on part of yourself, Hon’ble Madam, as the President of Republic of India and the custodian of our Constitution to uphold the constitutional propriety and immediately intervene to ensure the protection of lives and… pic.twitter.com/gd081642Zx

— Congress (@INCIndia) November 19, 2024

“I consider that it has become constitutionally imperative on the part of yourself, Hon’ble Madam, as the President of the Republic of India and the custodian of our Constitution to uphold the constitutional propriety and immediately intervene to ensure the protection of lives and properties of our own citizens in Manipur, as enshrined in the Constitution,” he wrote.

“I am confident that, through your intervention of your esteemed Office, the people of Manipur will again live peacefully in their homes in security with dignity,” Mr Kharge said.

The Congress chief blamed the “deliberate acts of omission and commission” and “inordinate inaction” by the Centre and the state government for the present situation.

“With every passing day, the people of Manipur are becoming insecure on their own soil – their home turf having witnessed their infants, babies, children and women getting mercilessly killed,” he said.

The security forces arrested six insurgents from two banned groups and a member of the Meitei armed group Arambai Tenggol in the last 24 hours in Manipur, the police said on Monday.

The security forces also recovered a large quantity of arms and ammunition from different districts. These include one SLR, one sniper rifle, two bolt-action rifles, one 9 mm pistol, five grenades, and different types of ammunition along with a two-wheeler.

The insurgents were arrested in Thoubal and Bishnupur districts for their involvement in kidnapping and extortion.

A police officer in Imphal said five insurgents of the Kangleipak Communist Party (People’s War Group) were arrested from Charangpat Mayai Leikai in Thoubal.

A grenade, five ‘demand letters’, five mobile phones, 13 SIM cards and a four-wheeler were seized from them.

In another incident, police arrested an insurgent identified as Nongmaithem Gunamani alias Allu, 32, belonging to PREPAK(PRO) outfit from Kumbi in Bishnupur district.

The Manipur Police also arrested a member of the Arambai Tenggol, identified as Khullem Sanjeep alias Bhim, 30. The AT member was arrested for his involvement in the assault of two Naga men from Senapati district on October 31 in Imphal.

Seeking justice for the two Naga men, three influential Naga organisations on November 2 demanded the Manipur government to take action against the perpetrators.