Voice of the People’s Party (VPP) chief and Nongkrem legislator Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit has blamed the intelligence machinery and district administration for the violence during the recent agitation, saying authorities should have anticipated attempts by anti-social elements to exploit the protest. He also alleged that the government would benefit politically if agitations turned violent, as this could shift public attention away from the issues being raised.
Basaiawmoit said political organisations organising agitations must repeatedly caution participants against creating trouble so that vested interests do not get an opportunity to hijack peaceful protests. He said the VPP follows such a practice during its own agitations and maintained that the KSU had also clearly announced its protest as peaceful.
“….the agitation or protest always organised by the voice of the people’s party have been instructed very clearly to the people anyone who wants to participate, that the party will not allow anyone to create any kind of trouble and repeatedly we have asking that,” the VPP Chief said.
Basaiawmoit said the failure to ensure that the message of a peaceful protest was effectively conveyed could have created space for anti-social elements to take advantage of the situation. He argued that the administration, while granting permission for the agitation, should also have anticipated the possibility of vested interests, including those opposed to the KSU or VPP, attempting to exploit the gathering.
“It is a complete failure on the part of the intelligence and the district administration, though they have given permission but they should also anticipate that in a situation like this, or this kind of agitation, there will be definitely some vested interest who may be anti KSU or anti VPP they will try to take advantage if they find a way,” he added.
