Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot | Photo Credit: PTI
A day after Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh said he was “sorry” for the communal conflict in the northeastern region, Congress leader Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday (December 1, 2025) said that an apology was not enough as Mr. Singh had to resign. his seat if he failed to handle the situation.
The former Rajasthan chief minister also attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for “neglecting” Manipur.
“Although the prime minister has apologized to the people, it is not appropriate for him to be forgiven. What happened in Manipur did not happen in any other situation in the history of the country. But the Center did nothing. Prime Minister Modi did nothing. Even when I visited Manipur,” Mr. Gehlot told reporters here.
“The prime minister asked people to hit the plates (during the Covid epidemic), they listened to him. If he had gone to Manipur and asked for peace, it is possible that the people of the two warring communities would also have listened to him. But they completely ignored him. The state.” The comments of Mr. Gehlot came a day after Singh apologized for the communal violence in Manipur, which claimed the lives of more than 250 people and left thousands homeless since May 2023.
“I want to apologize for what happened in the province. Many people lost their loved ones and many had to leave their homes. I am sorry and I want to apologize. But after seeing peace in the last three and four months, I hope that normalcy will be restored next year.
“Whatever happened happened… I want to appeal to all communities to forgive and forget our past mistakes and start life anew by living together in a peaceful and prosperous Manipur,” Singh told reporters in Imphal.
“The chief minister is apologizing now after 18 months of bloodshed. I don’t know what he wants to express. If he can’t deal with the situation, he should have resigned,” said Mr Gehlot.
Blaming the Center and the Manipur government for the unrest, the Congress leader said, “Couldn’t the Center have changed the chief minister? Though it wouldn’t have been a big deal, the violence would have stopped.” “Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Shah have committed a huge crime. They ignored Manipur as if it was not a part of India. The prime minister should have gone there,” he added.
While Mr. Shah went to Manipur two-three times, Mr. Mr. Gehlot said Mr. Modi seemed adamant about not visiting the situation.
Targeting the BJP government in Rajasthan, Mr. Gehlot said that nine districts have been divided in the state but no one is discussing this issue.
“People’s convenience should be considered in such matters, not the cost. The Jaipur Metro project was started, but when our government was changed, this new regime said that money was wasted on it, and called it a loss-making agreement. Metro networks around the world are agreements that lead to losses, but they should be moved to it for the benefit of the people, “said Gehlot.
The Rajasthan government has recently decided to dissolve nine constituencies formed by the previous Congress, saying they are “non-existent” and “not in public interest”.
The three new divisions were also dissolved in a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma on Saturday.
Published – January 02, 2025 11:09 am IST