As the date of first phase of polling in Manipur comes closer (on March 4), the eastern state is ripe with political activities. BJP national president Amit Shah, who was campaigning in the state, asserted that if voted to power, the BJP will make Manipur a model state in the next five years.
Shah was addressing a public meeting at the ground of Yumnam Leikai Lairembi under Singjamei assembly constituency on March 1. Addressing the gathering, Shah said that though Manipur has a rich tradition and culture, huge tourism potential and is famous as a sports power house, the Congress which has ruled the state for the last 15 years has failed to tap any of these potentials. “The Congress leaders were busy working on their self interest rather than working for the state,” the BJP national president said, adding that the Congress and corruption are two sides of the same coin.
On the Framework Agreement signed with the NSCN (IM) on August 3, 2015, Amit Shah said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Rajnath Singh has given their assurance that it will not in any way impact on the integrity of the neighbouring states, specially Manipur.
“As the party president, I also assure you all that the Framework Agreement will not affect the territory of Manipur,” he said.
Training his guns on the Congress government in Manipur, Amit Shah said that though the Centre has been pumping in huge funds for development projects, the state government has failed to submit utilisation certificates.
Directing a poser at the chief minister, Amit Shah asked, “If the funds have been exhausted without doing any work, then where have all the funds disappeared.”
Stating that Manipur will be made a “bandh and blockade free state”, Amit Shah said that if BJP is voted to power, the ongoing blockade will be put to an end within 24 hours.
Earlier, Manipur chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh cautioned that allowing those political parties which cannot think beyond one single community/religion to take roots in the soil of Manipur would spell doom for the state. The chief minister called upon all the people to teach a befitting lesson to those political parties in the ensuing state assembly election.
Taking a dig at BJP’s audio-visual poll propaganda, Ibobi remarked that there is not a single element of truth in the rival party’s propaganda.
“It appears that BJP takes the people of Manipur for fools. People should not trust BJP but always be wary of the party. The Prime Minister’s statement that the economic blockade would be lifted on March 13 if BJP is elected to power on March 11 only exposed that BJP has close nexus with NSCN-IM and the UNC,” Ibobi asserted.
