Amid violence, fire at minister's home, Manipur Cong MLAs seek Modi meeting

More than 100 people have lost their lives in the ethnic violence between Meitei and Kuki community people in Manipur that broke out a month ago.

As reports of fresh violence in Manipur came to the fore, as many as ten Congress MLAs from the state reached the national Capital on Thursday and sought an appointment from the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Police said fresh violence late on Thursday was reported hours after a mob burnt down two houses. (ANI file photo)

Speaking to HT, president of Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) Keisham Meghachandra Singh said, “Right now also, cross firing continues in Manipur and mostly in the periphery area and the state. The central government is still not doing anything about it and Prime Minister Modi never made a comment on it. After 26 days, union home minister Amit Shah left Imphal, but violence still continues and today in the 40th day.”

Speaking on the violence in the state and how the situation is, Singh said the party representatives are doing everything in their capacity to control the situation.

“Congress representatives are in danger in Manipur, but the party representatives are doing everything to control it. Our Congress party is suffering a lot to restore normalcy. The violence started on May 3 and on the very next day we requested CM N Biren Singh to hold an all-party meeting.”

Singh stressed on the fact that they are struggling to restore peace in the state.

“Whatever Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge advised us, we followed. Weamet the Manipur governor and President Droupadi Murmu. All I can say, we are struggling to restore peace in Manipur. Now we are here in Delhi and have united ten political parties to take up this issue with the PM.”

In the latest incident of violence in the state, a mob set union minister RK Ranjan Singh’s residence afire in Manipur’s Imphal even as an unspecified number of people were injured when armed men attacked a village in Kuki-dominated Churachandpur district on Thursday night, officials aware of the matter said.

The arson attack amid protracted ethnic violence in Manipur came days after a mob stormed Singh’s residence on May 23 before security personnel managed to disperse the attackers by firing in the air.

Fresh violence late on Thursday was reported hours after a mob burnt down two houses as clashes broke out between protesters and security personnel in Imphal.

Two days earlier nine people were gunned down and another 10 injured in the sharpest escalation of violence in the state. It was the highest number of casualties in a single day since violence first broke out on May 3.

Clashes between the majority Meitei community and the tribal Kuki community first erupted on May 3. They have since left at least 115 people dead. At least 300 people have been injured and nearly 40,000 displaced. Clashes were triggered during a protest against a court order for considering Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to the Meiteis.