AMN / NEW DELHI
The Congress party on Sunday termed N Biren Singh’s resignation as “belated” and took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling him a “frequent-flier,” saying he should visit Manipur.
The Congress’s attack came soon after Singh submitted his resignation to Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla at the Raj Bhavan in Imphal.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge likened Singh’s resignation to “shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted.”
He also held Modi responsible for the “disdain and apathy” towards the strife-torn state.
“It is painful to say that for 21 months, the BJP ignited a fire in Manipur and left the people across communities to fend for themselves,” Kharge said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
“Their rank incompetence and utter disregard for Rajdharma resulted in at least 258 people having died, more than 5,600 arms and 6.5 lakh rounds of ammunition were looted from police armouries, more than 60,000 people displaced and thousands still forced to live in relief camps,” the Congress president said.
Slamming the prime minister further, Kharge said Modi had forgotten that Manipur was a part of India. He said, “It is high time he rejigs his memory and locates the state of Manipur on the map of India!”
“Modi ji has not stepped on Manipur’s soil since his last election campaign in January 2022, although he had time to visit several foreign countries in between. Now that the chief minister has belatedly resigned, we hope and urge him to visit Manipur and hear the stories of horror from the people,” the Congress chief added