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Modi meets ministers amid Manipur unrest
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting to discuss the situation in Manipur, where violence has left 115 dead and 300 injured in nearly two months. The meeting was attended by senior ministers, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and officers who briefed the PM on the steps being taken to restore normalcy in the northeastern state. The situation remains tense, and additional forces have been deployed to assist the local administration. The state government has been asked to talk to all stakeholders, spanning the ethnic divide between the majority Meitei and tribal Kuki communities.
New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday chaired a meeting attended by senior ministers and officers who briefed him about the situation in Manipur and the steps being taken to restore normalcy in the northeastern state where 115 people have died in nearly two months of violence and where the situation is still not under control, people familiar with developments said.
The meeting — also attended by Union home minister Amit Shah, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri and senior officials — was called a day after the Modi’s return from his state visits to the US and Egypt.
The people cited above said Shah briefed the PM about the overall security situation in the state, where tensions continue though no fatalities have been reported due to clashes since June 13. The authorities have also deployed additional forces to assist the local administration and the state government has been asked to talk to all the stakeholders spanning the ethnic divide between the majority Meitei and tribal Kuki communities.
The home minister briefed the PM about the all-party meeting chaired by him on Saturday, when leaders of 18 parties gave various suggestions to tamp down tensions in the state, including sending an all-party delegation to Manipur. Demands for the ouster of chief minister N Biren Singh were also raised by some parties. Shah had conveyed to various leaders during the meeting that the PM was “constantly monitoring the situation from Day One” and that the Centre was committed to bringing peace to Manipur.
“Besides, the PM was also told details of Shah’s meeting on Sunday with Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh, who has been asked to do everything possible to ensure there isn’t further violence,” said one of the persons cited above.
According to a party functionary aware of the details, Puri, the Union minister of petroleum, was asked to ensure a seamless supply of cooking gas and fuel to ensure there is no gap in the supply of essentials. “The supplies are now being monitored and distributed by the territorial army to ensure there are no malpractices and no hoarding. The issue of supply of essentials was flagged at the all-party meeting and at the interaction between Shah and Biren Singh,” the functionary added, requesting anonymity.
To a question on whether the party brass was contemplating a change in the state’s leadership as was demanded by several Opposition parties, including the Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Janata Dal United and others, the functionary said no decision had been taken.
The demand to remove Singh has found resonance even among some sections of the BJP, with a clutch of Kuki lawmakers also flagging a trust deficit between their community and the CM. “It was for this reason that the home minister directed Singh to reach out to various communities, including the Kukis, during Sunday’s meeting,” the functionary added.
Singh gave a report to Shah on Sunday, detailing measures being taken to restore normalcy in the state. “We are going to invite all stakeholders, existing civil society organisations, women folk organisations, religious bodies, etc, for interactions and better understanding among communities to restore normalcy,” Singh later said in Imphal.
At least 115 people have died so far and 300injured in the ethnic clashes which first erupted on May 3 in Churachandpur town after tribal Kuki groups called for protests against a proposed court-ordered tweak to the state’s reservation matrix, granting scheduled tribe (ST) status to the majority Meitei community. Violence quickly engulfed the state where ethnic fault lines run deep, displacing tens of thousands of people who fled burning homes and neighborhoods into jungles, often across state borders. The authorities quickly clamped a curfew and suspended the internet, pumping in additional security forces to force a break in the spiraling clashes. Internet is still not fully back in the state.
Tensions continue to simmer in the state despite patrolling, flag marches and search operations by Manipur police, the army and central paramilitary forces.
