Action against Naga rebels: Centre petitions EC against Manipur govt

NEW DELHI: The Union home ministry, worried at the lack of efforts on part of the Okram Ibobi Singh government to end the three-month-old blockade of National Highway-2 in poll-bound Manipur, has sounded out the Election Commission and sought its intervention to get the arterial road cleared of Naga rebels ahead of polling.
“While enough Central forces have been deployed at the disposal of the Central government to have the highway cleared, the state government has been rather reluctant to utilise them.Among the reasons cited by them is that since women are squatting on the highway to enforce the blockade, it cannot risk the use of force,” said a home ministry official.
The home ministry fears that if serious efforts to clear the highway, which runs through Naga-dominated hill districts, are not made soon enough, there may be direct impact on the impending poll. “If NH-2 is blocked, how will the candidates conduct their campaigns? Also, how will polling personnel and poll material be transported? The economic blockade has hit supply of essentials like petrol and diesel. Even voters may find it difficult to access polling booths in the hills, which are due to go to polls in the last phase on March 8,” said an official.
Given that the superintendence of district officers as well as police is currently with the EC - in view of the ensuing poll - the home ministry has now sensitised the commission on the alleged “failure” on part of the Ibobi government to rein in the Naga rebels, led by United Naga Council (UNC), and asked it to ensure that the Central forces allocated to Manipur are deployed optimally and judiciously to end the blockade ahead of the poll.
“Unless this is done, the arterial highway will continue to be choked by the Naga rebels, making a free and fair election impossible. An assessment says that polls in most hill districts cannot be held if the current situation continues,” said an officer.
The UNC is protesting against carving of new districts out of Naga-dominated areas in Manipur hills. The Ibobi Singh government, however, is not willing to risk a crackdown on those blocking the highway as that would mean loss of lives and thus a misadventure on the eve of poll.