Manipur: Opposition Slams Home Ministry for Ignoring Crisis in Key Security Report

IMPHAL: The Union Home Ministry was reported to have informed the Standing Committee on Home Affairs on November 12, 2024, that compared to 2014 when an 82% decline in civilian casualties had taken place since then.

Sources quoted by “The Hindu” said that the Ministry's presentation focused on the fact that whereas there were 212 civilian deaths in 2014, there were only 38 in 2023. The Ministry claimed that there was a decline in insurgency-related incidents by 71% over this period.

For instance, the incidents stood at 824 in 2014 and at 243 in 2023. Moreover, the casualties among the security forces declined by 60%, from 20 deaths in 2014 to 8 in 2023, for example.

However, opponents noted that the Ministry notoriously left out all reference to the continued violence in Manipur. During the meeting an opposition MP criticized the Home Ministry for not voicing any comment on the situation in Manipur; it was said that this was a deliberate omission- as Manipur had continued unrest.

This was again when discussions turned to women's safety, one TMC MP referenced the murders of two women in Manipur recently.

The first casualty was reportedly an armed Meitei group who had killed a schoolteacher from the Hmar community of 31 years of age from Jiribam district. She was found dead in the burnt house where she left her family fleeing.

The second was a Meitei woman aged 27. Suspected Kuki insurgents murdered her while working in her paddy field in Bishnupur district. The TMC MP questioned how the Ministry could term the State a success in ensuring women's safety by totally ignoring these incidents in Manipur.

The opposition demanded that the Centre-State relation be given much importance in the Home Minister's speech, particularly the very short and meager deliberation over it covered in a one-page discussion over 69 pages of the presentation. Member of parliament from TDP, Krishna Prasad Tenneti echoed this objection. "Why did the Home Secretary not speak of the relation of center with states which is a part of his ministry?"

An Opposition MP criticized the structure of the presentation as it is a presentation on the achievements of the Ministry and plans in which there should be well-balanced presentations showing areas in dire need of improvement.

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