IMPHAL: In a unified effort to address the prolonged crisis in Manipur for the past six months, ten like-minded opposition parties in the state have come together to explore ways to resolve the situation.
“We will take the matter into our hands and start searching for ways to bring the parties in conflict to the negotiating table,” declared Kshetrimayum Santa, the convenor of this coalition and the Secretary of the CPI(M) Manipur state council during a press meet in Imphal on Thursday.
Highlighting the need for dialogue and negotiations to resolve the conflicts, the opposition parties urged the government to appoint of an interlocutor to initiate dialogue.
They further added that the coalition has decided to collaborate with civil society organisations to seek ways to bring the conflicting parties to the negotiating table.
ALSO READ Manipur violence not politically orchestrated; dialogue key to peace: Rajnath Singh
Santa also expressed disappointment that the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister have made no effort to facilitate negotiations between the conflicting parties.
“Despite the turmoil in Manipur for the last six months, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have not taken concrete steps to resolve the crisis,” he said.
Santa stressed that it has been half a year since the violent conflict erupted in the state, and both the state government and the Centre have failed to bring the conflicting parties to the negotiation table.
ALSO READ Curfew reimposed in Imphal West as reports of arms snatching intensify
The press meet was attended by representatives from various political parties, including the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), All India Forward Bloc (AIFB), All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Indian National Congress (INC), Janata Dal-United (JDU), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray).
Representatives from all the participating political parties also voiced their concerns about the government’s lack of initiative to put an end to the ongoing crisis, highlighting the urgent need for a peaceful resolution in Manipur.
