Insurgency should be resolved through dialogue, says CM Okram Ibobi Singh

IMPHAL: Chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh on Friday said the insurgency problem in the state should be resolved through dialogue.

Speaking at the flag-hoisting function of the Congress candidate for Phungyar, Victor Keishing, Ibobi said there were many rebel outfits in Manipur and any issues or problems faced by the state should be resolved by the people themselves, not by leaders who come from outside.

Addressing another rally for the Congress candidate for Oinam, I Ibohalbi Singh, Ibobi said central BJP leaders campaigning here should try to understand the state more.

"I appeal to leaders to not think that Manipur is like Assam or Arunachal. In Arunachal, government was formed through defection. I want to tell them that such a game cannot work in Manipur," he said.

Meanwhile, senior

BJP leader Hareshwor Goswami

, who is convenor of the RTI cell, resigned from the party on Friday and joined Congress. Ibobi, who welcomed Goswami at the

Congress Bhavan

here, said his entry would strengthen the party.

Goswami said he left BJP not to get a ticket but in protest against the 'favouritism and nepotism' prevalent within the saffron party. He said there was heavy corruption in BJP regarding allotment of tickets. Goswami said he would now work for Congress wholeheartedly in the election.