From Bhupen Goswami
Guwahati: Miscreants set fire to a shop in Chingmarong on the midnight of June 25, hours after Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi to discuss the prevailing situation in the state. By 2 am, the fire was brought under control with the quick response of police and fire brigade personnel. There was no report of any casualty or crowd gathering during this period. Cm Biren Singh has tweeted about the meeting with Home Minister Amit Shah. “I met Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi today and briefed him about the situation on the ground in Manipur. Under the strict supervision of Amit Shah ji, the state and central government have been able to control the violence to a great extent in the last week. No casualty has been reported in the violence since June 13.
Biren Singh wrote in his tweet that the Honorable Union Home Minister assured that the Central Government will take all possible steps to maintain peace in Manipur. Apart from this, Amit Shah ji has also sought cooperation from every stakeholder in Manipur to ensure that peace prevails in the state. The security personnel deployed in the state have been successful in maintaining law and order. Notably, since June 13, no casualties have been reported, indicating substantial progress towards peace. Chief Minister N Biren Singh briefed the Union Home Minister about the ground situation and highlighted how the state and central governments worked together to successfully end the violence during the last week. The Chief Minister claimed that the Union Home Minister has assured that the federal government will take all necessary steps to keep Manipur peaceful. Amit Shah has also taken the assistance of all Manipur stakeholders to maintain peace in the state.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who arrived in Delhi on Sunday night after concluding his state visit to the US and Egypt, chaired a Cabinet meeting on Monday. Several Union ministers including Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman and Hardeep Singh Puri attended this meeting. Earlier, Union Home Minister Amit Shah met PM Modi and briefed him about the developments in Manipur. On Sunday, Chief Minister N Biren Singh briefed Shah about the current situation in the state and said the state and central governments have been able to control the violence to a large extent. However, the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) rejects any offer of talks with Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh and will not hold talks with his government in any form. Moreover, the manch also said that all tribals and a large section of Biren Singh’s own Meitei community have lost faith in his leadership and his government.”The chief minister’s intention to reach out to stakeholders after his meeting with Home Minister Amit Shah has come too late.
After so many innocent lives and property losses and cookie—the untold hardships faced by the tribals—there is no point in talking about peace without a political solution. The release also alleged that amid the current crisis, around 106 tribals have been killed, 201 villages have been burnt, over 5000 houses burnt and 355 churches destroyed, while 41,425 tribals have been displaced by the conflict. The ITLF cookie-which also urges all CSOs and tribal leaders of the community to maintain unity and not participate in any kind of dialogue with the CM and his administration. If anyone is in touch with the state government, strict action will be taken as necessary. On the other hand, raising the voice of the people for early restoration of peace and tranquility in Manipur, differently-abled persons from various places staged a sit-in at Naoremthong Community Building under Imphal West on June 26. During the protest, the protesters carried placards that read “Don’t kill civilians, we are disabled, we want peace, save your life, don’t burn our house, Long live Manipur”. Addressing the media on the sidelines of the protest, one of the protesters, Ningombam Jayaprada, who is one of the victims of the current unrest, told the media that the protest was organised in connection with the current turmoil. All the protesters are differently-abled people from different places. The Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) strongly condemned the central government’s policy to restore peace in Manipur, under which the valley has been divided by the administration of the hill by the central government and by Chief Minister N Biren Singh. The party also strongly condemned Chief Minister N Biren Singh for accepting such a policy. Addressing the media at the Congress Bhawan on June 26, MPCC general secretary Khumanthem Debabrata said Home Minister Amit Shah advised Chief Minister N Biren Singh to handle the current crisis only for the Valley areas, while the hilly areas he (Amit Shah) pays attention to are highly condemnable and unconstitutional. Such an arrangement is of a completely “divisive nature” which the Congress will not accept at any cost. He said the Centre and the state government should withdraw their stand or else the democratic nature of the agitation would be raised with the people of the state. He said the present government was formed after the popular elections in 2022. This is the mandate of the people of the state. There is no point in the central government adopting a separate administration for the hill and chief minister N Biren Singh adopting the valley. The Chief Minister of a particular state should represent the entire community.
