Amid the unabating crisis in Manipur, Congress MP A Bimol Akoijam raises pointed questions over the Centre’s inaction, suggesting that such a situation would not have been left unaddressed if it happened in states such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

In an interview with PTI, Akoijam vehemently criticised the Centre’s handling of the situation in Manipur, asking why the government of India was allowing the northeastern state to become like Afghanistan, which he described as a “banana republic”.

“With 60,000 troops stationed in Manipur, the central government should have prevented this crisis from persisting for so long,” Akoijam stated.

“If this were happening in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, or Madhya Pradesh, would it have been allowed to linger? Most people would say no,” he added.

Amid the continuing crisis, Akoijam urged the Centre to thrash out the issues in the state government, claiming that BJP MLAs were speaking in two different voices on the issue of separate administration.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi should have called his MLAs and ministers and said ‘this should not happen in India. Manipur is not a part of any Banana Republic, I will not allow this to happen, talk it out, what is the problem’,” Akoijam said.

Representatives of certain Kuki groups in Manipur made a demand last month for the creation of a Union Territory with a legislature similar to that of Puducherry, stating that it was the only solution to the ongoing strife.

However, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh has emphatically rejected the demand.

Akoijam, who represents the Inner Manipur constituency in the Lok Sabha, emphasised that while he viewed Singh as a “small-time player” in the broader crisis, he could not be completely absolved of responsibility.

He alleged, “The government of India is squarely responsible for the crisis.”

He voiced serious concerns about the deteriorating situation in the state and cited the example of Afghanistan, saying, “where warlords roam around and the central authority cannot assert itself.”

Akoijam also urged the Centre to assert itself “decisively and judiciously.”

When asked if he thought Manipur was heading in the direction of Afghanistan, the Congress MP said, “The government of India has been allowing it. So, the question is – instead of asking whether Manipur is going the Afghanistan way, we should be asking why the government of India is allowing Manipur to be like a banana republic, like in Afghanistan. That should be the right question.”

Akoijam alleged that there had been a deliberate effort to destabilize Manipur, claiming that “someone is scripting this in cahoots with those seeking to split and dismember the state.”

He observed that the violence witnessed in Manipur was unprecedented in post-colonial India, describing it as akin to a civil war characterized by sophisticated arms and military-style operations.

Akoijam, an associate professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, stated, “India is not a banana republic. Even if the Indian Armed Forces were allowed to act as a peacekeeping force in a foreign country, you would not allow these things to happen.”

Akoijam also dismissed Home Minister Amit Shah’s assertion that the overall situation in Manipur had been calm outside of three days of recent violence.

“The government’s statements create confusion rather than clarity,” he said.

Regarding the possibility of restoring peace and facilitating movement between communities in Manipur, Akoijam expressed skepticism, noting that the situation was far more complex than other historical conflicts in the country.

When asked if he could provide a timeline for normalizing the situation in Manipur, the MP said it was “embarrassing for me” as an Indian to ask when communities affected by communal violence would be able to return to their homes.

He stated, “The situation of Kashmiri Pandits is often discussed but at least some Pandits remain; in this case, there is a complete absence of certain communities.”

Akoijam pointed out that while there were security concerns, there was a need to acknowledge that certain armed groups had committed violence, and civilians had been armed as well.

He added, “This has never happened before and blaming one community or another only complicates matters further.”

As the situation in strife-torn Manipur continues to be tense, there have been increasingly louder calls for a robust response from the central government, with stakeholders expressing deep concerns over the future of peace and stability in the region.

Ethnic violence in Manipur erupted on May 3, 2022, following a tribal solidarity march in the hill districts to protest against the majority Meitei community’s push for Scheduled Tribe status. Since then, the violence has claimed the lives of more than 220 individuals, including members of both the Kuki and Meitei communities, as well as security personnel.

Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking if the BJP’s rule on age of retirement also applied to Modi as it did for saffron party stalwart leader LK Advani.

In his first ‘Janta ki Adalat’ public meeting at Jantar Mantar following his resignation as Delhi Chief Minister, asked the RSS if it agreed with the BJP’s politics of using central agencies to break up parties and topple Opposition governments, and inducting corrupt leaders into its fold.

In his series of questions to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, the AAP convener questioned RSS chief if he agreed with the BJP’s politics of calling politicians corrupt and then inducting them into its fold.

In another question, he asked Bhagwat how he felt when BJP chief JP Nadda said his party did not need the RSS, which is the saffron party’s ideological mentor.

Released on bail from Tihar jail on September 13 after over five months in prison in connection with the excise policy case, Kejriwal asserted that he joined politics to serve the country and not for any greed for power or post.

The former Chief Minister also said that he resigned because he was hurt by the corruption allegations against him and added that he had only earned respect, not money, during the past 10 years.

He said the upcoming Delhi Assembly polls would be an “agni pariksha” for him and urged people not to vote for him if they thought he was dishonest.

The AAP supremo added he would move out of the Chief Minister’s official residence after the “shraddh” period during Navratri and go live among the people, who had been offering him accommodation.

Senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia, speaking at the same event, said that attempts were made to turn him against the Chief Minister and party colleague Arvind Kejriwal after his arrest in a corruption case linked to the now-scrapped liquor policy in the national capital.

“The BJP wanted to break my and Kejriwal friendship, but they could not do that. If Ram ji and Lakshman ji had ever been separated in Ramayana and met again, they would have met like we both met on September 13 after Kejriwal ji came out of jail,“ the former Deputy Chief Minister said at a party event Janata ki Adalat.

The United States has handed over 297 antiquities, which were smuggled out of India, during the ongoing visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an official statement said on Sunday.

The Prime Minister expressed his gratitude to President Joe Biden and the US Government for ensuring the return of 297 invaluable antiquities to India.

Deepening cultural connect and strengthening the fight against illicit trafficking of cultural properties, Modi said in a social media post on X.

Thanking President Biden for his support in returning these artefacts, PM Modi noted that these objects were not just part of India’s historical material culture, but formed the inner core of its civilisation and consciousness.

Official sources said illicit trafficking of cultural property is a longstanding issue that has affected many cultures and countries throughout history, and India has been particularly hit, PTI reported.

With this, the total number of ancient items recovered by India since 2014 has gone to 640, officials said, adding the number returned from the USA alone will be 578. This is the maximum number of cultural artefacts any country returns to India.

Some of the notable antiquities handed over to India include an ‘apsara’ in sandstone from central India belonging to the 10-11th century CE, a Jain Tirthankar in bronze belonging to the 15-16th century CE, a terracotta vase from eastern India belonging to 3-4th century CE, and a stone sculpture from South India belonging to 1st century BCE-1st century CE.

Other prominent items include Lord Ganesh in bronze from south India belonging to the 17-18th century CE, standing Lord Buddha in sandstone from north India from the 15-16th century CE, and Lord Vishnu in bronze from Eastern India belonging to the 17-18th century CE.

Apart from the current visit, Modi’s earlier visits to the USA have also been particularly fruitful in terms of returning antiquities to India.

Officials said during his visit to the US in 2021, 157 antiquities were handed over by the US government, including the exquisite bronze Nataraja statue from the 12th century CE. Also, a few days after his US visit in 2023, 105 antiquities were returned to India.