NCP Chief Sharad Pawar To Skip All-Party Meeting On Manipur

Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar will be skipping the all-party meeting which will be chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the Manipur situation on Saturday.

Although Pawar wanted to attend the meeting, he is giving a miss due to some important prior commitments. The NCP supremo has designated Narendra Verma, National General Secretary of the party, and Soran lboyaima Singh, President, Manipur State NCP, to attend the meeting.

"I am in receipt of your letter dated 22nd June 2023, regarding the meeting of the Union home minister with various political parties, on June 24, 2023, to discuss the situation in Manipur. Although I wanted to attend this meeting, however, due to some important prior commitments, it would not be possible for me to do so, Shri Narendra Verma, National General Secretary, NCP and Shri Soran lboyaima Singh, President, Manipur State NCP, will represent Nationalist Congress Party in this meeting," Pawar said in a letter to Union MoS for Home Nityanand Rai.

The all-party meeting on June 24 in New Delhi to discuss the situation in Manipur which has witnessed sporadic violence since May 3 will be held at 3 pm today.

However, Congress has termed the all-party meeting convened by Home Minister Amit Shah on the Manipur situation as "too little, too late,"

"Well after 50 days of death and destruction in Manipur, HM @AmitShah's call for an all party meeting is too little too late. The government only woke up after Smt. Sonia Gandhi ji's address to the people of Manipur," Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal tweeted.

He questioned the absence of Prime Minister from such a "serious meeting" and criticised him for "unwillingness to confront his failures."

The Congress leader said, "At the outset, the PM's absence from such a serious meeting shows his cowardice and unwillingness to confront his failures. Even when multiple delegations sought meetings with him, he had no time for them. The HM himself has presided over this situation and made no progress, in fact things have worsened since his visit. Can we expect genuine peace under his stewardship?"

Currently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is headed to Egypt for a two-day visit to the Arab nation after completing his maiden State Visit to the United States.

Violent clashes broke out in Manipur after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts on May 3 to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.