Manipur: Cong demands fresh Assembly polls

Imphal: Congress MP Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka on Thursday demanded fresh elections in Manipur and said that the party seeks the return of peace and brotherhood in the state.

He was speaking at the state-level rally of ‘Vote Chor, Gaddi Chor’ in Imphal.

Ulaka, who is AICC in charge of Manipur said, “We are holding this rally here so that you know what is happening in the country. Congress party, our leader Rahul Gandhi, will ensure that democracy enshrined in the constitution is protected.”

He said Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge visited Manipur multiple times. Congress wants a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on when he will visit Manipur and why he is silent on Manipur.

Ulaka said President’s Rule has been imposed in the state despite the BJP and its allies having 55 MLAs in the 60-member Manipur Assembly.

He said, “Our demand is simple. We want fresh elections in Manipur where people will elect their government and solve the issues. There is no solution, no peace now. We will stand with Manipur and ensure peace and brotherhood return to the state.

Manipur is under President’s Rule since February this year.

He also said, “We will be doing a signature campaign from September 15 to October 15. We will be collecting ten crores signatures, which we will give to the President of India or the Election Commission.

Earlier, speaking at the occasion, AICC secretary Christopher Tilak said two months back, “We had a programme highlighting how BJP is violating the constitution. As far as Manipur is concerned, the constitutional violation has been maximum in the country in Manipur.”

He also alleged that the BJP is trying to dilute the Constitution.