Following the failure of the chief minister to chair a meeting of MLAs and volunteers of Youth of Manipur in New Delhi, the 25 volunteers returned to Imphal on Monday after failing to reach a consensus.
The 25 volunteers of Youth of Manipur (YoM) landed at Bir Tikendrajit International Airport on Monday evening. The team left Imphal on September 23 to monitor the progress of the MLAs and ministers and exert pressure to put an end to the conflict in Manipur.
YoM expressed discontentment over the feeble mentality of the MLAs and ministers camping at Delhi to approach the Central leaders in connection with the Manipur conflict and called upon people to question the spineless leaders at their respective constituencies.
Speaking to the media at the airport, one of the 25 volunteers highlighted that the MLAs and ministers who had been camping since September 13 just stayed there doing nothing to resolve the crisis.
“They could not do anything without the chief minister. Even during our meetings they could not give a conclusive decision which showed that they were evading their responsibilities,” he said.
He informed that the 25 YoM volunteers met with the 25 MLAs at Manipur Bhawan on September 24, during which YoM put forth several agendas.
He highlighted the agendas which included immediate action against the 10 Kuki MLAs, striving beyond party lines to put the chief minister on top of the unified command and making the Central and state security forces as first responders at sensitive areas instead of village volunteers.
“We also urged them to legalise the village volunteers if they were not able to do so,” he added.
He pointed out that the MLAs had urged the YoM volunteers to aid the government in strategising a road map for peace restoration and questioned the YoM volunteers if they were open to peace talks.
“We flat out told them that we were open to talk with anybody except Kuki separatists, he added. He maintained that when the meeting reached the conclusive stage all the MLAs present could not muster the courage to inform the chief minister about the meeting’s agenda.
“They told us that they could not approve the agenda without the chief minister, and YoM requested the MLAs to urge the chief minister to come to Delhi,” he said.
He further stated that after the photos of the two students went viral, YoM volunteers urgently visited Manipur Bhawan on September 28 and met with 21 MLAs, demanding them to ramp up the peace restoration measures.
Both sides agreed to convene a meeting on September 30 with all the MLAs, including the opposition MLAs and the chief minister, he added.
“YoM volunteers also requested the chief minister to attend the meeting but he denied the request,” he said.
However, he stated that the September 30 meeting also proved futile as the MLAs and ministers present could not come to a conclusion without the chief minister.
“We felt as if the government was intentionally evading their responsibilities and prolonging the crisis,” he added.
He highlighted that during the meeting, several MLAs had informed that the chief minister could seek an urgent appointment with the Prime Minister if he wanted to.
“We requested if both the opposition and ruling party could form a temporary regional party till the crisis was resolved. We also requested them to put forth any bold leader as the chief minister and resolve the crisis,” he said.
“How will the central leaders lead the people of Manipur if our own leaders have abandoned their people?” he asked.
Meanwhile, another YoM volunteer refuted the allegations of Minister L Susindro and stated that the allegations were an attempt to malign the image of YoM.
“He put forth several allegations questioning the legitimacy of YoM and asking if YoM represented the entire people of Manipur. We would like to throw the same question to the minister and ask him if he represents the entire MLAs of Manipur,” he asked.
He alleged that the minister was the one who became enraged over the suggestions of YoM during the meeting.
“We would like to see the minister show the same enthusiasm in resolving the crisis as he showed in defending his dear chief minister,” he said.
