In violence-hit Manipur, the BJP has started its Muslim outreach campaign by kicking off a one-day mandal-level political workers’ conference in Lilong, the state’s lone Muslim-majority seat.
At the event, Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh on Saturday said that his main aim is to try to unite the people of Manipur after the three-year-long ethnic violence.
Singh said that some people with vested interests who do not want peace to return in Manipur were trying to derail his peace efforts.
He further remarked that such ill-intentioned individuals cannot continue to disrupt the lives of the common people indefinitely, expressing confidence that honesty and sincerity would ultimately prevail over them.
“God will not forgive those who want to break peace in Manipur,” Singh said.
The Manipur chief minister praised the courage, determination and unwavering love of former chief minister Mohammed Alimuddin for the state.
Late Alimuddin, who represented Lilong assembly constituency, was the state’s first chief minister after Manipur attained statehood in 1972.
He also lauded Alimuddin’s steadfast belief that all communities can live together peacefully in harmony and coexistence.
He said that he made two trips to Jiribam district bordering Assam and tried to unite all communities residing there.
During his first visit, he travelled by helicopter and met Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) taking shelter at various locations across the district.
He also met families of the victims of both the Meitei and Hmar communities.
He stated that during his second visit to Jiribam district by road, he met members of the Kuki, Hmar, Paite, Meitei, Meitei Muslim and Rongmei Naga communities.
