“Congress Not Allowed To Present Views In All-Party Meet”: Jairam Ramesh

New Delhi:

Hours after the all-party meeting, convened by Union Home Minister Amit Shah to discuss the prevailing situation in Manipur, ended, the Congress, which was represented by former chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh, said he was “not allowed” to put forward his points”.

It also called the meeting an “eyewash and a formality”.

Taking to Twitter, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said it was an “insult” that the only leader from Manipur at the all-party meeting was not allowed to put forth his views on the situation in the Northeast state.

“As the principal Opposition party, our representative, the senior most leader from Manipur, 3-time elected CM Okram Ibobi Singh, was not allowed to present his points representing the pain and anguish of the people of Manipur. He was the only leader from Manipur in the all-party meeting today, and it is an insult not only to the former CM and the Congress party but also to the people of Manipur that their representative was not allowed to fully put forth his point of view,” Ramesh tweeted.

The all-party meeting organised by the Home Minister today was just an eye-wash and a formality.

As the principal Opposition party, our representative the senior most leader from Manipur, 3-time elected CM Okram Ibobi Singh, was not allowed to present his points representing… pic.twitter.com/XMjfWXYHBa

— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) June 24, 2023

He also shared eight points on behalf of his party, which include the immediate removal of the Manipur CM, without which, according to him, “no progress can be made towards peace and normalcy in Manipur”.

“The all-party meeting organised by the Home Minister today was just an eyewash and a formality,” he added in his tweet.

The meeting, chaired by the Union Home Minister, was called to take stock of the situation in the violence-wracked state. BJP national president JP Nadda, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, and CPI (M) MP John Brittas were among the other leaders present in the meeting.

Violence gripped Manipur on May 3 after clashes erupted during a rally organised by the All Tribal Students Union (ATSU) to protest the demand for the inclusion of Meiteis in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) list.

The ruling BJP has come under fire from the Opposition over the continuing violence in the state.

Congress chairperson Sonia Gandhi had earlier said the “unprecedented violence that has devastated the lives of people in Manipur has left a deep wound in the conscience of our nation”.

She urged all stakeholders to work for the restoration of peace and harmony in the state.

The Congress has been vocal about Manipur since the violence erupted in the BJP-ruled state.