Manipur continues to burn with no immediate possibility of a long-term solution, and fresh violence being reported from different parts during the past 48 hours. Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who has also now been toying with the idea of commencing the second phase of his Bharat Jodo Yatra from the East to the West, after completing nearly 4,000 kilometres of journey from the South to the North, landed in Manipur on Thursday. This was certainly not appreciated by the BJP which described the visit to the trouble torn area as “Vulture Tourism’’ and said that Rahul was merely interested in a photo-op and not in solving the problem. However, the purpose of the visit to Imphal and some parts of the state, affected by ethnic clashes, triggered by politics and an attempt to grant the tribal status to the Meiteis, the majority community, was more or less achieved. It is evident that the ruling dispensation was rattled by Rahul’s trip since it allowed the Opposition, particularly the Congress to raise a very uncomfortable question on why the Prime Minister has not visited the strife ridden region, and why is he maintaining a complete silence on the issue? While it is for the Saffron Brigade or the Prime Minister’s office to respond to that question, the Congress has been attacking Narendra Modi for turning a blind’s eye to the issue, while he continues to talk about political matters at various rallies. The division in Manipur is complete and the Home Minister in his attempt to bridge the gap, convened a meeting of Opposition leaders last week. The meeting did not provide any breakthrough, but there was a chorus so far as demanding the resignation of Chief Minister, N.Biren Singh was concerned. Several Opposition leaders were of the view that Biren Singh was directly responsible for fanning trouble, and the sooner he was replaced, the better it would be for the North Eastern State. The Chief Minister is in no mood to oblige his detractors, and on Friday, there was speculation that he could give in his papers to the Governor, whom he was scheduled to meet at the Raj Niwas. In what appeared to be a stage-managed show of strength in his support, the CM and 20 MLAs who were accompanying him, were prevented by a strong crowd outside his residence, from proceeding further. A copy of his resignation letter was apparently torn by the women who had gathered, after they asked him to continue in office. Following this development, Biren Singh’s followers maintained that the Chief Minister was not quitting and would not like to demit his responsibility at this crucial juncture when many parts of the State were literally burning. On the other hand, Rahul Gandhi was able to visit some of the relief camps despite his movement being curtailed. His presence there served the cause of the Opposition as well as the tribal groups, who maintained that the problem in their state was triggered by some petty politics by the supporters of the ambitious Chief Minister. The fear is that the fallout of the trouble could be very dangerous for the entire North East. Politically speaking, the seven states numerically do not account for too many seats in Parliament, but any kind of deterioration in the situation there, can allow the country’s enemies to take advantage. The genesis of what is happening is purely political, and therefore the solution too has to be politically driven without risking any more lives. As matters stand, the situation is unlikely to improve unless the Prime Minister intervenes. Whether he shall or not, is for the BJP and his office to answer.
