Following a protest by Irom Sharmila’s party, the People’s Resurgence and Justice Alliance (PRJA), the BJP has given up on plans to hold Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally at the historic Kangla Fort, a place of religious importance for Manipur’s Meitei community.
The BJP’s choice of venue had sparked off a controversy after PRJA filed a complaint with the state election commission, saying it was a sacred site. According to the EC’s code of conduct, which is put in place once elections are announced, places of worship are barred from being used for election propaganda.
In an all-party meeting held with the Chief Election Officer in Imphal on Monday, it was decided that the location of Modi’s rally will be changed. Modi’s rally, the only one by the Prime Minister scheduled so far in Manipur, which goes to polls on March 4 and 8, will now be held near the CRPF grounds at Lamsing.
The BJP, however, skirted the controversy and cited logistics as the reason for the change in venue. “There are only two gates in Kangla Fort. It would become difficult for large crowds to enter. Besides, there was apprehension that traffic jams would take place in the area,” said Prahlad Singh Patel, the BJP leader in charge of Manipur.
PRJA convenor James Mayengbam said that they are happy that the EC took notice of their complaint. “The EC did not take any decision within the mandated 48 hours, and a response came in only after 72 hours. But we appreciate that PM Modi has respected the EC’s decision,” Mayengbam said.
The Kangla Fort also holds political importance in the state, which has seen a lot of bloodshed in the past few decades. The ghastly rape and murder of 32-year-old Thangjam Manorama, who was picked up by Assam Rifles cadres on July 11, 2004 in the middle of the night, led to a protest that India has rarely seen before — standing outside Kangla Fort, 12 imas (or mothers) who had stripped off all their clothes screamed out to the army men headquartered inside, saying, ‘Indian Army, rape us!’ Soon after, the army left the fort.
“The army had taken up the Kangla Fort to send us a message: ‘Look at us, we’ve desecrated the holiest of your places.’ What more could they have done to break us,” says Golan Nauluk, a Manipur native who’s returned to Delhi after a master’s course at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.
