Manipur Violence: Congress Criticizes Delayed Efforts to Restore Normalcy

NEW DELHI: On Thursday, the Congress questioned why the Centre was taking so long to intervene to restore peace to conflict-torn Manipur and said that the RSS's objective and the BJP government's "diabolical acts" were to blame for the state's acrimonious divisions.

In an attack on the BJP administration, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh stated, “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 government let Manipur burn for a month? Are only Manipuri votes valuable and Manipuri lives dispensable?”

Ramesh also cited the BJP state government's actions, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)'s divisive policies, and the inaction of the federal government as causes of the current rift in Manipur. He emphasised how the Manipur scenario has an impact on the entire Northeast. The Manipur situation has been exacerbated, according to the Congress party, which questioned why Prime Minister Narendra Modi hasn't made a peace appeal to the state's residents. Furthermore, they criticised Shah for postponing his trip to the violent zone.

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

His comments followed the announcement on Thursday by Union Home Minister Amit Shah that a panel headed by a retired judge would look into the extensive violence that Manipur had experienced, which resulted in fatalities and property damage.

Additionally, he mentioned that a special CBI team would be looking into six instances related to the violence. After spending three days in the violent northeastern state, Shah made the announcement. He asked everyone to lay down their weapons and added that severe measures would be implemented in the event of any SoO violations.

The Minister said that a joint security command would be established and impartially oversee all security-related operations. It would be led by Chief Security Advisor to Manipur Kuldeep Singh, a retired IPS officer and former commander of the CRPF.

Since May 3, when the All Tribals Students Union (ATSU) organised a march to protest the demand for the inclusion of Meitei/Meetei in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category, Manipur has experienced violent incidents.

Additionally, on Sunday, a BJP MLA's home was vandalised, several individuals were killed, including one, and a mob is said to have stolen over 1,000 weapons and rounds of ammunition.

Shah visited the area and personally visited the relief camps. He also spoke with a number of civil organisations that represented the Kuki and Meitei populations. He claimed that civil society members and leaders from both groups gave him assurances about their dedication to mending fences and clearing up miscommunications.

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