Manipur situation similar to turmoil following India's partition, says MP

New Delhi: Lok Sabha MP Angomcha Bimol Akoijam compared the situation in violence-hit Manipur with the turmoil which ensued the partition of India and said 60,000 people have become homeless in this civil war-like situation in the state and the Centre has been a mute spectator to this.

Speaking in the House, Akoijam raised the point that there was no mention of Manipur in the President's address and said this was not a just simple omission. "This is a reminder of a Rashtra Chetna which excludes people." Akoijam was speaking in the Lok Sabha on July 1, in the debate on the motion of thanks on the President's address to the joint session of both houses.

Calling upon the House to think about the pain and anxiety of Manipur and its people, the Congress MP said: "I will keep quiet the moment the prime minister opens his mouth and a nationalist party (BJP) says that Manipur is part of India and we care for the people of that state... Only then, will I accept what nationalism is in our country."

The Congress MP from Inner Manipur said it is an irony that such an important matter, which is sought to be silenced, gets an opportunity as the midnight hour (it was around 11.49 pm when he spoke) approaches. "I was associated with a research project. We have interviewed more than 1,500 survivors of the Partition of 1947. You are witnessing the same thing now with people living in a wretched condition. I cannot even mention that here," Akoijam said.