‘Past Sins Of Congress’: CM Biren Singh’s Barb After Jairam Ramesh Asks Why PM Can’t Visit Manipur – News18

Last Updated:January 01, 2025, 12:12 IST

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh has accused the Congress of politicising the ethnic violence in the state and blamed the party’s past actions for the current turmoil there.

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Tuesday alleged that the state was in turmoil today because of the “past sins committed by the Congress”. The Chief Minister’s remark came as a scathing attack on Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, who claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has “avoided” a visit to Manipur since 2023, when ethnic violence broke out there.

Responding to Jairam Ramesh’s remark, the Chief Minister also said that the Congress party was polticising the issue instead of resolving it.

The war of words between Manipur’s Chief Minister and the Congress erupted after Singh, while addressing the media on Tuesday, apologised for the current situation of the state and appealed to all communities to forget and forgive past mistakes and live together in a peaceful and prosperous state.

“This entire year has been very unfortunate. I feel regret and I want to say sorry to the people of the state for what is happening till today, since May 3, 2023,” Biren Singh said.

“Many people lost their loved ones, many left their homes. I would like to apologise, and now, after seeing the progress in the state over the past three to four, I hope that with the New Year 2025, normalcy and peace will be restored in the state,” he added.

“I want to appeal to all the communities of the state that whatever happened has happened. We now have to forget past mistakes and have to start a new life. A peaceful Manipur, a prosperous Manipur, we should all live together,” the Chief Minister said.

Firing incidents have declined in the state over the last 20 months since the ethnic conflict began in May 2023, the Chief Minister was quoted by news agency PTI as saying.

“From May to October 2023, 408 firing incidents were reported. From November 2023 to April 2024, there were 345 firing incidents, whereas from May this year till now, 112 firing incidents were reported,” he said.

Of all the looted weapons, 3,112 have been recovered and 2,511 explosives have been seized during the period, he said.

The Chief Minister also said that 625 people have been arrested and 12,247 cases registered so far.

Seventeen companies of security forces have been deployed along the Imphal-Mao-Dimapur National Highway and an additional 18 companies along the Imphal-Jiribam-Silchar National Highway, he said.

The Chief Minister also mentioned that the government has procured 40 bulletproof vehicles and heavy weapons to counter armed militants.

“With the formation of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government in the state, the law and order situation has improved. The government acted as a bridge between the insurgent groups and the Centre for initiation of peace talks,” he claimed.

Nearly an hour after Singh’s address, Jairam Ramesh took to social media and wrote, “Why can’t the Prime Minister go to Manipur and say the same thing there? He has deliberately avoided visiting the state since May 4th, 2023, even as he jets around the country and the world. The people of Manipur simply cannot understand this neglect”.

Also speaking to news agency ANI, the Congress leader said, “The Prime Minister should go to Manipur and say the same thing that the Chief Minister said today. The people of Manipur are asking why Prime Minister Narendra Modi is neglecting us.”

Responding to Jairam Ramesh’s remark against PM Modi, Singh, in a lengthy X post wrote, “Everyone, including yourself, is aware that Manipur is in turmoil today because of the past sins committed by the Congress, such as the repeated settlement of Burmese refugees in Manipur and the signing of the SoO Agreement with Myanmar-based militants in the state, spearheaded by P Chidambaram during his tenure as the Home Minister of India.”

The Chief Minister also clarified his statement to ANI, wherein he apologised to the people of the state, and said, “The apology I extended today was a sincere act of expressing my grief for the people who have been left displaced and become homeless. As a Chief Minister, it was an appeal to forgive and forget what had happened. However, you brought politics into it.”

“Let me remind you: The Naga-Kuki clashes in Manipur resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,300 people and the displacement of thousands more. The violence persisted for several years, with periodic escalations occurring between 1992 and 1997, though the most intense period of conflict was in 1992–1993. The clashes began in 1992 and continued at varying intensities for around five years (1992–1997),” the Chief Minister’s X post read.

“This period marked one of the bloodiest ethnic conflicts in northeast India, deeply affecting relations between the Naga and Kuki communities in Manipur. Did Shri PV Narasimha Rao, who served as the Prime Minister of India from 1991 to 1996 and was the President of the Indian National Congress during this time, come to Manipur to extend an apology?” he asked.

“The Kuki-Paite clashes claimed 350 lives in the state. During most of the Kuki-Paite clashes (1997–1998), Shri IK Gujral was the Prime Minister of India. Did he visit Manipur and say sorry to the people?”

“Instead of putting efforts to solve the core issues in Manipur, why is the Congress playing politics over it all the time?” he asked.

More than 250 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence in Manipur since May 2023.