Outer Manipur MP Alfred Kanngam S Arthur on Tuesday lambasted the central government over the "increasingly disturbed" situation in Manipur.
The MP also termed the Union Budget 2024 anti-people in his maiden speech in the Lok Sabha.
Speaking during the discussion on the Budget 2024 25, MP Alfred slammed the Prime Minister for his indifferent attitude towards the strife-torn state and asked "Where is the justice for Manipur?".
"Modiji keeps saying, in fact, everyone in the BJP says, wherever Modi is, everything is possible, Wherever Modi is there will be justice? But where is the justice for Manipur? Where is the justice today?... We are not betrayers to this nation. We have helped build this nation.”
He asserted, “We deserve an equal budget. It is my right" while remembering the contribution of his great grandfather Major Bob Khathing Ralengnao as this nation today celebrates a place called Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh.
The MP continued, "My electorates, who elected me, who believed in me and sent me here today have not sent me here to come and listen to lectures, neither is it to come and listen to all fictitious figures that are brought forth to this August house."
Alfred further questioned where all the union ministers who used to visit Manipur post the formation of the NDA government in 2014.
"What has happened in my state of Manipur in the last 15 months is no joke. Since the coming of the NDA government in 2014, every single day or week has not gone by when we have not seen a Union Minister in Manipur. Every single week, we would see a union minister. Where are they today after May 3, 2023? After 2023, no Union Minister is seen in Manipur. Why?" the MP questioned.
Alfred Kanngam also demanded that the Prime Minister and Home Minister visit Manipur and listen to the grievances of their fellow citizens.
"The Prime Minister is intelligent enough to understand that his fellow citizens in Manipur do not get proper food, thousands languishing in relief camps for the past 15 months. The Prime Minister and Home Minister must come to Manipur. We are all your fellow citizens. Why don't you want to come to us? We have been listening to your Maan ki Baat. Ten years we have listened. Can you not even hear the cries of the women and the children who cannot go back to their homes in one state?
The MP then reiterated his neutrality in the ongoing conflict in Manipur.
"I am from the Naga community in Manipur. We have stayed neutral to this conflict in letter and in spirit. We have not taken sides with anybody thinking that being neutral, we would one day usher in peace. On August 8, 2024, our Hon’ble LoP came to Manipur. I am extremely grateful to the Hon’ble LoP for coming to Manipur three times. I am so grateful that they have kept alive the Manipur issue in this August house telling the people of our nation that Manipur should come first" the MP mentioned, adding that he had given two suggestions on how to bring peace to Manipur.
"When the LoP came to Manipur we were given an audience with the Governor at 5 pm on the 8th. I was also part of that delegation. We gave suggestions. I gave two clear suggestions on how to bring peace to Manipur. I think it has not been acted upon because Manipur, you have taken it as not part of this nation. That day I had very clearly said the Nagas are not part of this conflict. We are neutral to this issue. We have requested the Governor to take the help of the Naga leaders, the Naga community leaders and send them out to the Kuki as well as to the Meitei areas to usher in peace.”
Laying the blame on the Chief Minister for the entire conflict as alleged repeatedly by one community MP Arthur asked, “Is it so difficult to replace one man and bring peace to our area? If one cannot deliver justice in such a small state, what can he do for such a big country?"
The Outer Manipur MP also took a dig at Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman saying one doesn't need rocket science to understand dynamics of what is people friendly and that goes against the interests of a nation.
"My state has been in all the news for all the wrong reasons. For the past 15 months, I have gone through the budget that the finance minister has placed before this August house. I think she fails to understand that in this present juncture, Manipur is the lowest per capita income bearing state and the highest inflation. How do you expect a state that is lowest in income and paying highest prices to survive? You already have a conflict. You've had the worst floods in the last 35 years. Unprecedented floods that we have seen in the last 35 years. And the finance minister, she grins from ear to ear. She smiles and she places a budget that is anti-people. You don't need rocket science to understand dynamics of what is people friendly and that goes against the interests of a nation," Alfred said.
The MP added that in the Union Budget, the finance minister has talked about tourism in the rest of the country. However, she failed to mention tourism in the Northeast.
"She has mentioned nothing about tourism going to the Northeast. If you go to any prestigious or any hospitality sector in the rest of the country, you will see youngsters from the Northeast everywhere. it is all our youngsters, jobless in the northeast. had tourism been encouraged in the northeast, in the budget there not a single mention, i would like for the finance minister to add the Northeast in the tourism map and include that they will encourage and bring forth tourism to such an extent that our people do not have to look at the rest of the country for our survival," Alfred added.
