Imphal, May 16: Cracks surfaced within Okram Ibobi Singh’s council of ministers over the handling of the crisis of essential commodities with food and civil supplies minister Yumkham Erabot Singh openly accusing the chief minister of not supporting his efforts to resume supply.

“The Ibobi Singh government has failed to resolve the crisis of essential commodities. The situation has worsened as the chief minister has refused to provide security for the supply trucks,” Erabot Singh told a news conference today at his residential office in Porompat of Imphal East.
Erabot Singh said the existing petrol stock would last only for three days, diesel five days and kerosene nine days. Both the Imphal-Dimapur and Imphal-Jiribam highways were under economic blockade imposed by All Naga Students Association, Manipur, since April 11 against the autonomous district council (ADC) election in the five hill districts, supply continued to come with security escorts along the Imphal-Dimapur highway before May 5.

But the supply of commodities stopped after state police sealed Mao checkgate along the Imphal-Dimpaur highway to prevent the entry of NSCN (I-M) general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah into Manipur. After the May 6 firing by the police on Muivah supporters at Mao Gate, Nagas completely blocked the Imphal-Dimapur highway.

Ibobi Singh too stopped sending supply trucks along this route after the Nagaland government told his government not to send Manipur vehicles to Nagaland in view of the prevailing situation.

The Ibobi Singh government is now trying to use National Highway 150 that links Imphal with Silchar via Mizoram as the supply route.

Works minister K. Ranjit Singh and education minister L. Jayentakumar Singh reached Aizawl to see the condition of the highway and they are expected to return late tonight or tomorrow morning.

The government thinks the condition of the road and bridges along the Imphal-Jiribam highway are not good enough for heavy vehicles.

The difference of opinion between Ibobi Singh, who is also the home minister, and his food and civil supplies minister Erabot Singh is over the use of the Imphal-Jiribam highway. “There will not be any problem along the Imphal-Jiribam highway, which is only 222km. With about 50 security guards, supply trucks could move along easily. The condition of NH 150 is bad and it is much longer, nearly 500km,” Erabot Singh said.

He said he had planned to send supply trucks along the Imphal-Jiribam highway, but had to cancel the plan as the chief minister refused to provide security guards. “I am not happy with the attitude of the chief minister. I will lodge a complaint with the Union home ministry and transport ministry against the chief minister’s non-cooperation.”

Ibobi Singh has not reacted to the charges. Government spokesperson N. Biren Singh refused to make any comment. The relation between Ibobi Singh and Erabot Singh was never good. But this is for the first time that Erabot openly criticised the chief minister.

CPI deputy general secretary S. Sudhakar Reddy said here today the three-day CPI national council meeting from June 12 at Hyderabad would chalk out a strategy to launch a nationwide campaign on the issue of safeguarding Manipur’s boundary.

At a meeting held yesterday at Senapati town, Naga groups condemned the Mani-pur government’s opposition to Muivah’s visit and firing on Nagas at Mao Gate on May 6.