Manipur CLP leader O Ibobi on Wednesday criticised the BJP government for its refusal to withdraw the SoO agreement initiated by the Congress party with Kuki militants.
Ibobi, who is also the former chief minister of Manipur, was responding to an allegation made on a local TV channel, claiming that the SoO agreement, established during the Congress regime, was a detrimental decision.
Addressing the media at Congress Bhawan in Imphal, Ibobi acknowledged that the SoO agreement was indeed initiated during the Congress regime in 2005 and enforced in 2008.
However, he emphasised that it was implemented after extensive consultations with various national agencies, serving as a peace initiative and the Congress firmly believes in pursuing peace as a means to find solutions as opposed to resorting to violence.
During the Congress regime, the SoO groups were strictly bound by ground rules resulting in no reports of violence attributed to them during that period, he pointed out, alleging however the SoO groups began flouting the ground rules under the BJP regime in Manipur, allegedly utilising them for electoral gains.
Referring to the recent decision by the state cabinet to withdraw the SoO agreement without following due procedure, Ibobi questioned why the central BJP government had not withdrawn the agreement yet if it was considered a misguided decision carried out by the previous Congress government.
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