Imphal: “My idea of Manipur is to remain united, Manipur remains one whole, Manipur doesn’t get divided under any circumstance and we will fight for it with our lives until we die,” Thounaojam Basantakumar Singh declared.
Basantakumar, who is currently holding the charge of Education, Law and Parliamentary Affairs in the Biren Singh-led BJP government, was speaking to media persons on the sidelines of his reception ceremony, at Thambal Sanglen (BJP Bhavan) here on Tuesday.
The former IPS officer, who is contesting as a BJP candidate for the Inner Manipur Parliamentary constituency, said if he wins the upcoming 18th Lok Sabha election, his first priority is to ensure that those internally displaced people by the violence go back to their original places, to resettle them and provide them maximum support both from the State and Central governments.
Stating that Chief Minister N Biren Singh is also working very hard towards resettling those IDPs, Basanta said if he gets elected, he could lobby and push the Central government to help the state government to the maximum. Manipur needs the support of the Central government to become a developed state, he added.
Basantakumar, without naming any particular candidates, also appealed to them not to mislead the public and said that one cannot shout at the Parliament like the Manipur Legislative Assembly where they can speak as much as they want.
In Parliament, there is a limited time and unless he belongs to a big party like BJP, you won’t get much time, the Minister claimed.
When pointed out that there was already a Union Minister from the state who didn’t speak much about State affairs, Basantakumar said it was up to the individual to perform.
“But as a candidate, I promise I will perform on behalf of the state and people of Manipur. This is my guarantee,” he said.
Son of veteran politician and former Union Minister Th Chaoba, of Utlou village under Bishnupur district, Thounaojam Basantakumar Singh finished his schooling at the Delhi Public School, Delhi and did his graduation from the prestigious St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University.
