Manipur Turmoil: BJP Blames Congress for SoO Issue

Sun Jul 02 2023
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IMPHAL: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Manipur has blamed the then Congress government for the issue pertaining to present Suspension of Operations (SoO), saying it was signed without maintaining proper ground rule.
The BJP alleged that the SoO pact between the Central government and Kuki militants was signed in 2005 when the Congress party was in power in the state. However, an interlocutor was put to negotiate between the government and the SoO militants only after the coming of BJP in Centre, BJP MLA Usham Deben told media here Saturday.

He further said that the violation of SoO is due to the improper implementation of ground rules.
“The Central government used militants under SoO as a weapon to get information for the non-SoO Naga and Meitei militants,” he alleged further.

Deben alleged till date, militants are looting the public and government officers openly.
“If the SoO militants are in a controllable stage under negotiation, then the agreement is good for the public. However, SoO militants will be taken against the state if they are in an uncontrollable state,” Deben added.

After the BJP came into power in the state of Manipur, the United Kuki Liberation Front (UKLF) chairman, in an annexure submitted to the court, mentioned that “Since the day of the SoO, all my cadres have been staying in the designated camp by observing all the Do’s and Don’ts of the ground rules of the ‘SoO’.

Interestingly the UKLF also mentioned its support to the BJP in the Manipur Legislative Assembly election, 2017 as agreed upon with two BJP central leaders, Deben mentioned.

He also alleged that the visit of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to Manipur was to escalate the ongoing violence adding it was not a peace visit.

Keeping in view the law-and-order situation in Manipur, the state government had arranged a chopper for Gandhi to travel to Churachandpur, Deben said and added his visit to the state was not meant to bring peace rather, he came to get political mileage, Deben alleged.

After his visit to Churachandpur and Moirang, Gandhi did not meet Chief Minister Biren to give feedback on his visit, Deben said and added that the Congress should stop playing politics at this stage.

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