Centre, state govt should have concrete plan to resolve Manipur crisis at earliest: COCOMI

The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), a conglomerate of several civil society organisation of Manipur, on Tuesday expressed serious concern over the current situation in the northeastern state, saying the Centre and state government should have a concrete plan or policy to resolve the the crisis at the earliest.

"We feel that is high time now, because already 80 days have passed, the state government and the Central government should have a very concrete plan or policy to resolve this crisis as soon as possible. Otherwise, things are going to get out of hands because people are already fed up by the way they are handling the situation in Manipur," COCOMI spokesperson Khuraijam Athouba told IANS here.

Expressing his disappointment over handling of the situation by the Central government, he said: "It is not up to satisfaction. It seems like the Central government also has their own interest, in handling the situation.

"Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) has never spoken on the issues. He cannot speak once in the context of one of the stray incidents. He didn't mention about the core issues of the problem (in Manipur)."

Last week, the Prime Minister had expressed his pain and anger after the gruesome incident with the two women in the strife-torne Manipur and termed it very shameful, which can never be forgiven.

Earlier, the COCOMI spokesperson, addressing a press conference, said: "The handling by the state and Central governments is not upto the expectation of the people (of Manipur). Despite the heavy deployment of forces, how could they not control the situation. This is very shocking."

"Government of India is not taking concrete action despite several evidences of violating of the Suspension of Operations (SoO) ground rules by Kuki terrorist groups," he said.

Ethnic clashes erupted in Manipur on May 3 and since then, over 150 people have lost their lives whereas thousands have been forced to take refuge in the relief camps. The Congress and other Opposition parties have been blaming Chief Minister N. Biren Singh for the current crisis in the Northeastern state and demanded his dismissal.

On Monday, the Manipur CM told IANS that his government is taking measures to restore peace at the earliest in the state.