Imphal: India is a multicultural country, the BJP government should not encourage communal projects and it should not use Manipur as another Gujarat-type experiment, Dr Angomcha Bimol Akoijam said, referring to a book – Scarred: Experiments with Violence in Gujarat – by a Mumbai-based journalist which it dealt with the violence in the state of Gujarat, between Hindus and Muslims after the Godhra Train Burning incident in 2002.
Speaking to media persons on the sidelines of an interactive session with the newly selected candidates for the upcoming Parliamentary election at Congress Bhavan here on Sunday, Dr Bimol, who is contesting for the Inner Parliamentary constituency, said the country has already suffered colossal violence in the 1940s when it was created into two countries – Pakistan and India based on religious affiliations.Â
Bimol charged that the present regime at the Centre is implementing a similar kind of project in Manipur by dividing people on the line of ethnicity and shifting population from one area to another, which is absolutely unacceptable.
As a Meitei and Manipuri, we should let them know that Manipur existed before the Indian constitution, the JNU teacher added, citing Schedule 1 of the Indian constitution, where it mentioned that Manipur was an entity before the commencement of the Indian constitution.
Earlier, speaking at the interactive session, Bimol appreciated the leaders of the MPCC for accepting him as a member of the party and allowing him to contest in the Lok Sabha election.
Bimol said he joined the party to bring about a new political culture in the state where the Centre is compelled to listen to the will of the people. He also accused the Central BJP leadership, without naming the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, of not uttering a single word on the violence in the state.
It’s the right time to show who we are and that we cannot be bullied easily. If we cannot stand up this time, we would be a laughing stock, not just India, but the whole world, he added.
Stating that this election is not just about casting your vote, Dr Bimol urged the people to think of it as protecting and safeguarding our motherland when they vote this time.
Placing himself at the feet of Ima Leimarel and Ebudhou Pakhangba, Bimol said if he failed to bring up Manipur issues on the floor of the Parliament or outside, he would kill himself after five years.
