Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday said Rahul Gandhi’s prescription for Manipur peace is wrong as Gandhi is suggesting Army intervention in the strife-torn northeastern state. The solution to the Manipur situation should come from the hearts and not from the bullets, Himanta said. “Indian Air Force did the same thing in Aizawl. Violence was coming down after the bombing. Today Rahul Gandhi said Indian Army should stop the violence in Manipur. That means what? They should open fire on civilians?” Himanta said.
“Is this his prescription? How can he say that? Army will not be able to solve anything. They will only be able to quieten for the time being, and bring temporary peace,” Himanta said.
“They demanded that PM Modi should speak on Manipur. But when PM Modi started speaking, they walked out. They exposed their design and that their intention had nothing to do with Manipur. They just wanted to disrupt Parliament. PM Modi has spoken from his heart. He spoke about Manipur, about the northeast. We are immensely happy,” Assam CM said.
Rahul Gandhi on Friday said Indian Army can stop the ‘nonsense’ in Manipur in two days but they are not being deployed. Explaining that he is not seeking the army’s intervention, Rahul Gandhi said all that he is saying is that PM Modi and the Central government have multiple tools to contain the situation in Manipur, but they are not being utilised as PM Modi does not want Manipur situation to be better for many reasons.
‘Manipur is now two states, never saw something like this’
Rahul Gandhi said Manipur has been divided between the Meiteis and Kukis to such an extent that in Meitei areas no Kuki is allowed even in the security team. “When we went to a Meitei area, we were categorically told that if there is any Kuki member in our security team, they will be shot. And the situation in the Kuki area is the same. I have never seen such a situation anywhere in the country in my 19 years of political career,” Rahul Gandhi said.
‘Army won’t take three days…’
“PM Modi has not gone to Manipur and there are reasons which I can’t tell. If Indian Army is asked to take control of the situation, they can do it in two days. I have full faith in the Indian Army. They won’t even take three days. But PM Modi wants Manipur to burn. This is the truth of Manipur,” Rahul Gandhi said.