Imphal: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home minister Amit Shah should be ashamed of the security failure that forced Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla to alter his route amid ongoing public protests.
This was said by former Manipur chief minister O. Ibobi Singh on the sidelines of the 61st death anniversary observation of India’s first Prime Minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru at Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) office in Imphal on Tuesday.
Ibobi called the incident a “Glaring failure of Law and Order”.
The CLP leader said Bhalla had to take a detour of nearly six kilometres to avoid demonstrators, and was eventually airlifted from the Imphal airport to Raj Bhawan on Monday due to road blockades and mass protests.
Civil society organisations have been demanding the governor to apologize on the May 20 incident in which central security forces stopped a Manipur State Transport bus ferrying journalists to the Shirui Lily Festival in Ukhrul and ordered the removal of the word “Manipur” from its signage.
“According to our assessment, it is a total failure of the Government of India, especially the Ministry of Home Affairs. The Governor, being the constitutional head of the state, is effectively acting under the authority of the President of India,” Ibobi said.
He warned that he would consider filing a PIL or an RTI application to demand accountability, if the governor does not issue a public apology.
Calling it a complete failure of governance, he demanded a public apology from the governor, security advisor, chief secretary, and DGP of Manipur.
Ibobi said the governor was unable to travel the mere seven-kilometre stretch from Imphal airport to Raj Bhawan due to protests and had to be airlifted—a move he said was symbolic of the state’s deteriorating law and order situation.
The protests were led by the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity, a coalition of civil society organisations.
Ibobi questioned the role of central paramilitary forces, particularly the Mahar Regiment.
“Who gave the order to remove the name ‘Manipur’ from the bus? Why was the Mahar Regiment involved in a way that hurt public sentiment? They should come out and apologise. Asking to remove the state’s name raises serious questions about our territorial integrity,” Ibobi said.
“The situation in Manipur is not merely a law and order issue but a deeper erosion of democratic and constitutional values. People are reacting to threats to their identity.”
Ibobi reaffirmed that the Congress party would never compromise on the territorial integrity of Manipur.
