From Bhupen Goswami
Guwahati: Tension prevailed in Manipur over violence for the past two months. After a slight reduction in this tension, the state government had decided to open the schools. Imphal: A woman was shot dead near a school in Manipur’s Imphal West district on Thursday morning, a day after school classes resumed in the state, police said. The police have given information about this. The incident took place near Shishu Nishtha Niketan School around 8.40 am, police said. The woman’s body has been sent for post-mortem. Schools in Manipur have been closed for more than two months in the wake of the ongoing ethnic violence.
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Monday announced that schools for up to Class 8 will reopen from July 5, except for 96 schools in the worst-hit areas. Singh announced that students from classes 9 to 12 can return after the construction of prefabricated houses is completed and displaced people who have taken shelter in various relief camps are shifte. The northeastern state has been witnessing ethnic clashes between tribal communities – Maitei and Kuki – that have so far left at least 142 dead, over 400 injured and nearly 70,000 displaced. On the other hand, opposition members walked out of the meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home on Thursday after the chairman rejected the demand for a discussion on the situation in Manipur.
Derek O’Brien of the TMC and Digvijaya Singh and Pradip Bhattacharya of the Congress submitted a joint letter to committee chairman Brij Lal at the meeting convened to hear the views of the state governments of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana on the subject of “prison conditions, infrastructure and reforms”, sources said. The letter said the members cannot ignore the situation in Manipur. Opposition parties have criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence on the issue. In a letter dated June 19, the opposition said that despite Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to the state, peace is difficult to come by. The Congress demanded that Prime Minister Modi convene an all-party meeting as the first meeting was called under the leadership of Home Minister Amit Shah.
Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters, Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said the primary responsibility of any state government is to protect law and order and the lives of its citizens. “I think both the state and central governments have failed to do so. Two armed groups gathered in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district and opened fire, but security forces immediately rushed to the area and averted any clashes. Two armed groups gathered in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district and opened fire, but security forces immediately rushed to the area and averted any clashes. Sources gave this information on Thursday. The incident took place on Wednesday afternoon, he said. The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to entertain a plea by two Manipur residents against repeated internet shutdowns in the caste-hit state and gave them liberty to approach the high court on the matter. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and Manoj Mishra said a division bench of the Manipur High Court already had the matter in which an expert committee was constituted and directed to examine whether internet could be restored in the state. Advocate Shadan Farasat, appearing for the petitioners, said the matter pertains to internet ban in Manipur