IMPHAL, Feb 25 - Prime Minister Narendra Modi today blamed the Congress government in Manipur for not taking necessary measures to end the economic blockade and promised to end it if the BJP comes to power in the State.
Addressing a huge election rally at Langjing Achouba ground, 5 km west of Imphal, Modi in his hour-long speech in Hindi promised that no blockade will be allowed if the BJP comes to power in the State. �It is the State government�s responsibility to remove the blockade and provide essential commodities to the people,� Modi said, adding, the Centre �is always ready to help end the blockade�.
Manipur will go to polls in two phases - on March 4 and 8 - to elect 60 members of its State Assembly. The poll-bound State has been facing an indefinite economic blockade since November 1 last year, enforced by the United Naga Council in protest against the creation of Sadar Hills and Jiribam as full-fledged districts �affecting the interests of the Nagas�.
Dismissing the allegation that the August 2015 agreement between the Centre and NSCN(IM) might affect Manipur�s territorial integrity, Modi accused the ruling Congress government in the State for confusing the people over the issue to win the elections. �There is not a single word in the 2015 agreement that would compromise the territorial integrity of the State,� he asserted.
Coming down heavily on the Congress party for �ruining� Manipur, Modi claimed that jobs are categorised according to rates in the State. �Unity of Manipur, welfare of its people and development of the State is our only goal. You gave them (Congress) 15 years, give us five years. I assure you we will complete all the pending works in 15 months,� he said.
�If Northeast India does not progress, the country�s progress will not be complete. When Atalji (Atal Bihari Vajpayee) formed the government at the Centre, he made policies for overall development of the region. But the Congress did not carry forward the good work,� he added.
The Prime Minister said the BJP has a soft corner for the people of the Northeast and added that apart from creating a separate ministry for the region, all ministries were also directed to spend money for the development of the region.
Along with the State�s titular king Leishemba Sanajao, Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar, who is also party in-charge for elections in Manipur, Union DoNER Minister Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju, BJP State unit president Kh Bhabananda and all BJP candidates of the ensuing polls attended the election rally despite a call to boycott Modi�s visit and shutdown by the coordination committee of some Manipur-based insurgent groups.
Security measures were tightened in Manipur ahead of the Prime Minister�s visit in view of the shutdown imposed by the insurgents. However, there was no report of any untoward incident from any part of the State.
While all educational institutions remained closed, marketplaces and other facilities were deserted and vehicles were off the road. Attendance in government offices was almost nil.
Meanwhile, barely two hours after the Prime Minister left for New Delhi, Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh in a press conference here said Modi had not done his �home work properly� before embarking on his tour to this northeastern State. Ibobi said Modi has made a poll promise that the BJP would give 24-hour electricity if elected, but �we already have 24-hour power supply in the State�. Even Gujarat has replicated the Manipur model of power sector reforms, Ibobi claimed.
On Modi�s statement that the ongoing indefinite blockade will end if the BJP comes to power, Ibobi wanted to know whether the blockade would remain if the BJP is not elected. �If Manipur was not mentioned in the framework agreement (between the Centre and NSCN-IM) why did they not make it public,� he asked.