Imphal, Jan 3 : Veteran Congress leader and former Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh on Friday rebuked Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh over his repeated claims that the ethnic strife facing the state today is due to failures of the previous Congress government.

"The Chief Minister is blaming the previous Congress government to avoid his responsibility, and suppress the failure to deal with the ethnic crisis," Ibobi Singh told the media here.

Rejecting Biren Singh's claim about the India-Myanmar border fencing project, Ibobi Singh said it was initiated during his tenure (2002-2017) under the Congress government.

Ibobi Singh recalled that during his tenure, concerns over the potential loss of Indian territory due to the fencing project prompted his government to initiate a joint survey with the Survey of India and its Myanmar counterpart for proper demarcation.

Referring to the issue of illegal immigrants, Ibobi Singh brought up a statement made by Chief Minister Biren Singh during a conclave, organised by a media organisation on October 7, 2018, where he claimed there were no illegal infiltrators in Manipur and questioned how the BJP government could now blame the Congress for the presence of illegal immigrants when Biren Singh himself denied their existence.

Referring to the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement signed with the militant outfits in 2008 during his tenure, Ibobi Singh defended the move, stating its primary objective was to restore peace and normalcy in the state.

'The agreement included provisions to ensure the protection of Manipur's territorial integrity and safeguard the rights of common citizens. If the militant outfits violated the ground rules, the state government could take action,' he said.

The former Chief Minister further criticised Biren Singh for repeatedly blaming the Congress government despite having apologised for earlier remarks.

The United Peoples' Front (UPF) and Kuki National Organisation (KNO), which are a conglomerate of 23 underground outfits, signed a Suspension of Operation (SoO) agreement with the government on August 22, 2008, and then there are 2,266 Kuki cadres supposed to be staying in different designated camps in Manipur.

The Congress and the CPI leaders earlier said that the real issue was why the Chief Minister and the BJP leaders were silent as to why the Prime Minister did not speak anything for 20 months on the ethnic violence in Manipur and had not visited the state despite the people suffering a lot.

Earlier this week, Biren Singh in a post on X, said that that everyone is aware that Manipur is in turmoil today because of the past sins committed by the Congress, such as the repeated settlement of Burmese (Myanmar) refugees in Manipur and the signing of the SoO agreement with Myanmar-based militants in the state spearheaded by P. Chidambaram during his tenure as the Union Home Minister.

He said that the Naga-Kuki clashes in Manipur resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,300 people and the displacement of thousands more.

"The violence persisted for several years, with periodic escalations occurring between 1992 and 1997, though the most intense period of conflict was in 1992'1993. The clashes began in 1992 and continued at varying intensities for around five years (1992'1997). This period marked one of the bloodiest ethnic conflicts in northeast India, deeply affecting relations between the Naga and Kuki communities in Manipur,' the Chief Minister said.

"Did Shri PV Narasimha Rao, who served as the Prime Minister of India from 1991 to 1996 and was the President of the Indian National Congress during this time, come to Manipur to extend an apology ?" he asked.

Biren Singh said that the Kuki-Paite clashes claimed 350 lives in the state and during most of the Kuki-Paite clashes (1997'1998), I.K. Gujral was the Prime Minister.

'Did he (Gujral) visit Manipur and say sorry to the people? Instead of putting efforts to solve the core issues in Manipur, why is the Congress playing politics over it all the time'? he said.

/IANS