The Kuki National Organisation (KNO) said it took strong exception to Congress party’s allegation against the Kuki people that BJP paid over Rs 16 crore to them currently engaged in tripartite dialogue with the Centre and the state government.
The outfit’s joint secretary information and publicity, Stephen Kuki, in a statement said the Congress party on March 3 alleged that the state government released Rs 15,70,32,000 to banned militant groups under SoO on January 1 and another Rs 92,65,950 on March 1 to instigate the voters, violating the model code of conduct.
In this regard, the CEO Manipur on Friday clarified that the sanctioning of stipend by the state government to the SoO groups does not violate the model code of conduct.
“We are appalled that such baseless statements should emanate from a reputable national party,” said Stephen Kuki.
He maintained that the Congress party, which signed SoO agreement with the Kukis in 2008, was indecisive and never took interest in resolving the Kuki issue through political dialogue.
The demand for the Manipur Autonomous Hill Territorial Council (MAHTC) is a settlement not only within the framework of the constitution, but also within Manipur, Kuki said, adding the demand clearly is a solid foundation to preserve the territorial integrity of Manipur, which the people of the state strongly desire.
The statement also stated that the fact that the BJP government started political dialogue in 2016, two years after overwhelmingly coming to power in 2014, is a feather on the cap of the party.
“Perhaps, the Congress is unable to resolve issues of national importance albeit concerning a minority group, which is constitutional and are now regretting their lost opportunity. This, however, ought not to make the Congress stoop to levels unbecoming of a national party and engage in diatribe against the Kuki people,” the release mentioned.
The release urged the Congress party to retract their allegations at the earliest to restore trust and confidence among citizens of the country, irrespective of political party affiliation.
