IMPHAL | The Congress on Monday accused the BJP of failing to contain Manipur’s prolonged ethnic crisis, alleging that the ruling party’s “callous indifference” and “gross incompetence” had deepened instability in the state.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge made the remarks after meeting senior leaders of the Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee to review the security situation and preparations for the Assembly elections expected early next year.

The meeting was attended by former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Congress general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal, AICC in-charge of Manipur Saptagiri Ulaka, former chief minister and state Congress president Ibobi Singh, and Congress Legislature Party leader K Meghachandra, among others.

In a post on X, Kharge alleged that the BJP leadership had failed to take responsibility for the deterioration in law and order and was avoiding accountability as the crisis continued.

He said the people of Manipur deserved peace, stability, dignity and justice. Kharge added that the Congress would seek to end BJP rule in the state through the forthcoming Assembly elections and work towards peace, reconciliation and development.

Venugopal also criticised the BJP, claiming that the anger expressed at the INDIA bloc’s rally at Ramlila Maidan on Sunday reflected wider anti-incumbency sentiment in BJP-ruled states, including Manipur and Uttarakhand.

“Hatred, loot, land-grab and total misgovernance symbolise BJP’s trouble engine model in these states,” he said in a post on X.

Referring to the ethnic conflict, Venugopal said Manipur continued to suffer and claimed that voters had rejected the BJP in both Lok Sabha constituencies in the 2024 general election.

Fresh unrest in Kangpokpi

The Congress leaders’ remarks came amid renewed unrest in parts of Manipur. Protests broke out in several areas of Kangpokpi district on Sunday night, with demonstrators burning tyres and blocking roads with logs and boulders. Police later cleared some of the blocked stretches.

The protests followed the recovery of the mutilated bodies of two youths who had recently gone missing. Officials said the bodies were found in a hilly area of Senapati district on Sunday morning.

The latest incident has added to tensions in the state, where violence between Kuki and Naga communities was reported in several districts earlier this year. More than 50 people have reportedly been killed and dozens of houses burnt across Tamenglong, Noney, Kamjong, Ukhrul and Kangpokpi since clashes began in February.

The state has also been affected by the larger ethnic conflict between the Meitei community, concentrated in the Imphal Valley, and the Kuki community, predominantly based in adjoining hill districts. The conflict erupted in May 2023 and left more than 300 people dead, 49 missing and thousands displaced.

With Assembly elections expected early next year, the Congress is seeking to make the continuing security crisis a central issue in its challenge to the BJP in Manipur.