'You are the root cause of...': Manipur CM fires back at Chidambaram, accuses him of bringing 'Myanmarese foreigner'

Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh on Tuesday hit back at Congress leader P Chidambaram for blaming him for the crisis in the northeastern state. Singh accused Chidambaram of being the "root cause" of the ongoing crisis in the northeastern state.   

In a tweet posted and later deleted, Chidambaram said, “Rushing 5000 MORE central armed police jawans is not the answer to the Manipur crisis. It is more wisdom: acknowledging that Mr. Biren Singh, the chief minister, is the cause of the crisis and removing him immediately.”  

Chidambaram criticised the Centre's approach, suggesting that real solutions required greater understanding and statesmanship. “It is more understanding: that the Meitei, the Kuki-Zo, and the Naga can live together in one State only if they have genuine regional autonomy. It is more statesmanship: for the Hon'ble PM to give up his obstinacy, visit Manipur, and speak to the people of Manipur with humility and learn first-hand their grievances and aspirations,” he had said.  

Chief Minister Singh said he was "surprised" by Chidambaram's post and accused Congress of being responsible for Manipur's troubles. “There are a few problems that we are facing due to the ignorance of the Central leaders during the Congress time. P Chidambaram is the root cause of the present crisis".

Singh claimed that when Chidambaram was the Home Minister in the then Congress government and Okram Ibobi Singh was the CM of Manipur, they brought a Myanmarese foreigner, Thanglianpau Guite. "That person was the chairman of the Zomi Re-Unification Army, which is banned in Myanmar. Here is a photograph where P Chidambaram is meeting Thanglianpau. They never cared about the North East and the indigenous people,” Singh alleged.  

Singh also linked the crisis to the influx of illegal migrants. "The present crisis is the problem of the illegal migrants from Myanmar, and they try to dominate the indigenous people of Manipur and the entire North East. Whatever the problem is there in Manipur is created by Congress. They cannot wash their hands so easily,” he stated.  

Meanwhile, the Centre has decided to send 5,000 additional paramilitary troops to Manipur to address the worsening situation. Violence continues to grip the state, with mobs ransacking BJP and Congress offices in the hill district of Jiribam. The unrest followed the discovery of an unidentified body and recent killings in the district.  

In the Imphal Valley, protesters set fire to the residences of three BJP legislators, including a senior minister, and a Congress MLA. Security forces also thwarted an attempt to storm Chief Minister Singh’s ancestral home on Saturday evening. An indefinite curfew remains in place across several districts as tensions persist.  

The Congress has intensified its criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not visiting Manipur since the ethnic violence erupted in May last year. Over 220 people have been killed, and thousands have been displaced in clashes between the Meitei community in the Imphal Valley and the Kuki-Zo groups in the adjoining hills. “Rushing 5,000 jawans to Manipur is not the solution,” Chidambaram had said earlier, reiterating the Congress’ demand for the prime minister to personally intervene and address the crisis.