‘Not sure if envoy should comment’: MEA on Garcetti’s Manipur remarks
Sandeep Dikshit
New Delhi, July 7
The Ministry of External Affairs has disapproved of US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti’s observations on the Manipur violence.
What ambassador said
On a visit to Kolkata, US Ambassador Eric Garcetti said, “I pray for peace in Manipur and offer American assistance in any possible way. I don’t think it’s about strategic concerns, it’s about human concerns. You don’t have to be an Indian to care when children or individuals die in this sort of violence.
On a visit to Kolkata, the recently appointed US Ambassador on the Manipur violence said he prayed for peace in the state and offered American assistance in any possible way.
“I think we would also see peace there. Agencies, local governments and security forces are working on it. I am not sure if foreign diplomats would usually comment on internal developments in India,” said MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi. He made the observations before checking for the veracity of the Garcetti video.
Congress raises objection
To the best of my recollection going back at least four decades in public life, I have never heard a US Ambassador making a statement of this nature about the internal affairs of India. Manish Tewari, congress leader
“To the best of my recollection going back at least four decades in public life, I have never heard a US Ambassador making a statement of this nature about the internal affairs of India,” commented Congress leader and former Union Minister Manish Tewari.
The US envoy was quoted as saying, “I don’t think it’s about strategic concerns, it’s about human concerns. You don’t have to be an Indian to care when children or individuals die in this sort of violence. We know peace as a precedent for so many good things. There has been so much progress in the Northeast and the east.
“We stand ready to assist in any way if asked. We know it’s an Indian matter and we pray for that peace and that it may come quickly. We can bring more collaboration, more projects, more investment if that peace is in place.”
Tewari said such statements were never made when India faced challenges in Punjab, J&K and the Northeast over the decades.
Teen shot; loan repayment period extended
New Delhi: A teenager was shot by unidentified gunmen in Bishnupur district of Manipur on Friday. The incident took place when the gunmen were firing indiscriminately in the Phoubakchao locality and the victim, who was running for cover, was hit by a bullet. Keeping in view the prevailing situation in the state, the Manipur Government has issued an order extending loan repayment period for borrowers by one year. TNS
