‘Why did they let Manipur burn for a month?’: Cong's Jairam Ramesh slams Centre

Union home minister Amit Shah on Thursday announced a probe panel led by a retired judge to investigate the widespread violence in the northeastern state.

Published on: Jun 1, 2023, 21:37:17 IST

By Manjiri Chitre

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Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Thursday hit out at the PM Modi-led central government for not taking action earlier on the violence in Manipur, saying that the Centre's “inaction is the reason why the state is bitterly divided.”

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh. (PTI File Photo)

Also read: Mamata slams Amit Shah over delay in visiting violence-hit Manipur

“The Union Home Minister has made a series of announcements today on measures related to bringing Manipur back to normalcy that are welcome. Why couldn’t he have done this weeks ago? Why did the Modi govt let Manipur burn for a month? Are only Manipuri votes valuable and Manipuri lives dispensable?” Jairam Ramesh questioned in a tweet.

He added, “The RSS’ agenda, the BJP state govt’s diabolical acts and the Union govt’s inaction is the reason why Manipur is bitterly divided today. And what has happened in Manipur has implications for the entire Northeast.”

Earlier in the day, Union home minister Amit Shah announced a probe panel led by a retired judge to investigate the widespread violence in the northeastern state. He also announced that six cases pertaining to the violence will be probed by a special CBI team.

Also read: Ethnic violence-hit Manipur gets new police chief

The union minister further appealed to people to surrender any arms in their possession. “Surrender your arms to the police today. From tomorrow, a combing operation will start. Action will be taken if arms are found by the police,” he said after three days of his visit to the violence-hit state.

“I want to appeal to all civil society organisations to not pay heed to rumours. Now is the time to maintain peace from both sides,” he added.

Also read: Questions raised as Kuki DGP not heading Manipur police force over ethnicity

Shah also said that the Centre will soon announce a relief and rehabilitation package for families who have lost members to the violence or suffered injury or damage to property.

Situation in Manipur

Manipur began witnessing tensions from May 3 after an interethnic violence erupted during a solidarity march called by the All Tribal Student Union Manipur (ATSUM) in protest against an April 19 Manipur high court order directing the state government to consider giving Centre Scheduled Caste (ST) reservation to the Meitei community.

Around 80 people have been killed in the violence so far, while thousands of people have been displaced.

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