Imphal: The economic blockade in Manipur is “a gameplan of Congress” which is not sincere in solving the issue with the Chief Minister confining to barracks central forces at its disposal to ensure safety of highways, said today.
Refuting the Congress allegation that the BJP was hand in gloves with the groups who have called the blockade, Javadekar said the economic blockade was a “gameplan of the Congress”.
“The Manipur Chief Minister and the Congress regime know very well that they would lose the polls and that is why they have resorted to the blockade. The gameplan of the Congress is money through power and power through money,” Javadekar, who is also BJP’s in-charge of Manipur, said.
The HRD Minister claimed in an interview to PTI that in the last two years there was no blockade and that the prices of LPG and other essentials had come down considerably.
“So there was support in favour of the BJP and that is why the Congress resorted to an indefinite economic blockade. This blockade is by Congress regime, of the Congress regime and for the Congress regime,” Javadekar said.
The HRD minister said that the central government had provided 175 companies of central para-military forces to the state, but the chief minister was not using them and kept them in the barracks.
“The central government had provided these forces which are waiting for the orders of the Chief Minister to control the situation, but he is not giving them any orders. He has ordered them to stay in the barracks,” he said.
“You need to deploy just 2,000 central force personnel on the highways to ensure the safety and security of the goods vehicle. But he is not allowing the forces to work.
This is the first proof that Congress is not interested in lifting the blockade, he charged.
The United Naga Council has imposed an indefinite economic blockade since November 1, 2016 to protest against the state government’s decision to create seven new districts in the landlocked state by bifurcating the existing ones.
The state government has said that the decision has been taken to improve administrative efficiency. .
PTI
