Home Minister Amit Shah presented pertinent points on Manipur conflict: BJP MLA

 IMPHAL: Manipur BJP MLA Rajkumar Imo Singh said on Thursday that Union Home Minister Amit Shah, during his speech in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, presented very important and pertinent points regarding the present conflict in the state. The BJP legislator, who is also the son-in-law of Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, said in a statement that Shah virtually reiterated the policies of the state government and the general views of the people of Manipur. Singh said that the Home Minister said that there would be no change in the demography of Manipur. "The Home Minister has accepted the reality of the conflict that there has been infiltration from Myanmar, for which recording the biometrics of all illegal migrants is necessary. He said the influx of Kukis from Myanmar was caused primarily due to a crackdown by the Military Junta there," the BJP MLA said.

Imo Singh quoted the Home Minister as saying that India-Myanmar boundary fencing has become a priority for the country and that the Central government will fence more than 600 km of the border, for which a survey has started. Shah has put forward the narcotics angle for the conflict, which the entire state has been discussing, Singh said. "The Government of India is talking with the Myanmar government regarding the influx. It was the Manipur High Court's order regarding Scheduled Tribe status without any recommendation from the state government that triggered the violence," he said. The state government has been cooperating with the Centre, and there would be no change in the state led by Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, Imo Singh said.

Meanwhile, leading tribal body Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF) had said earlier in the day that all Kuki-Zo tribals feel let down by the Home Minister for his comments in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday regarding the ethnic conflict in Manipur. Shah reportedly told the Lok Sabha that the ongoing violence in Manipur started because of "Kuki infiltrators".

The lone Mizo National Front (MNF) Rajya Sabha member from Mizoram, K. Vanlalvena, also objected to Shah's comments on Manipur tribals. "The Home Minister said that tribals in Manipur are Myanmarese. We are not Myanmarese; we are Indians. We have been living in India since British rule. We have been living here for over 200 years," Vanlalvena told the Rajya Sabha amid noisy scenes. (IANS)

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