Manipur Erupts in Protests: Meira Rallies Slam Army Chief’s Controversial Remarks

IMPHAL: Aggressive Meira rallies were held at various places in Manipur on October 4 to protest against Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi's comments over the crisis in the state.

Thousands of protesters, including mostly women, hit the streets, carrying traditional torches of Meira, demanding that the burning of the region should immediately be put to a stop.

The rallies had passionate slogans that echoed "STOP INDIA'S PROXY WAR AGAINST MEETEI!" and "GO BACK CENTRAL SECURITY FORCES!" People were fuming over what they call a concerted attempt at fixing the Meitei in a scheme, with the slogans echoing out the streets, "STOP INDIA'S POLICY OF OBLITERATING MEETEI!"

General Dwivedi made his controversial comments during the Chanakya Defence Dialogue 2024 when he was speaking to the unravelling situation in Manipur.

Reaction to this, the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity, quickly accused him of making "false" statements, saying that utterances of such nature represent failure to grasp and connect with the people of Manipur.

According to COCOMI, such statements represent failure to recognize members of the Meitei community as integral parts of the nation.

Earlier, Chief Minister N Biren Singh appealed to the people of the state to join a cleanliness drive and call for mass commitment toward non-violence and political dialogue for solving problems being faced by the state on the occasion of 155th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

As Chief Minister, I give a message to the public of Manipur, that on this day we should try to join the cleanliness drive even by picking up a small lump of soil. Let us have faith in non-violence. Every prevailing issue and problem should be solved politically by talking. We should commit ourselves to the nation and state," said N Biren Singh.

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