New Delhi: Indian hockey player Nilakanta Sharma, who plays as the midfielder for the men's team, has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to directly address the situation in Manipur.

Sharma told the New Indian Express, "What can I say about my state? Nothing will change if I say anything. But I only hope Modiji says something for our sake."

He said this when asked if he wished to say anything to the people of India about the unfolding crisis that has hit Manipur over the last few months.

He is currently with the hockey team in Chennai for the Asian Champions Trophy.

"My family is safe and things are fine in Imphal where they live. The problems are in the hilly regions. I last visited my home two months ago and things were fine in Imphal then," he added.

Laishram Rivaldo Meitei, who had captained Manipur’s sub-junior team in Goa last season, was shot dead, in Imphal East, during the ethnic clashes on May 5.

"We are trying our best to stay competitive for the tournament but how can someone forget about his family and friends when the violence is claiming lives every day," Manipur team manager Thiyam Roshankumar Singh had told the New Indian Express when the tournament was being held in Rourkela in June.

Also read: Narendra Modi Talked About the Manipur Violence. But Did He Really?

Only after 76 days of violence – which has claimed about 150 lives and left tens of thousands displaced – Prime Minister Modi spoke on the issue, saying that “all states” must do whatever they can to protect “our mothers and sisters”.

The prime minister broke his silence on the Manipur violence only after a shocking video of two Kuki women being paraded naked emerged on social media. The incident reportedly happened on May 4, one day after the ethnic clashes begun in the state; however, it went viral only after two months.

One of the two survivors said that she saw four policemen sitting in the car and observing the violence, The Wire reported. "They didn't do anything to help us," she said. This survivor's father and brother were killed in this mob attack.

The opposition has been relentlessly demanding the prime minister's statement on Manipur in parliament.

In an address to the media after meeting president Droupadi Murmu, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said: "... the main demand is that the prime minister should speak and visit Manipur and list out steps needed to bring peace in Manipur and provide relief to the people of the state."

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