New Delhi: With Manipur once again in the throes of escalated ethnic violence – ongoing in the state since May last year – Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh has called a meeting of all members of the legislative assembly of his party and allies.
The move comes as a key ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Northeast, the National People’s Party withdrew support to it citing its failure to “restore normalcy” in Manipur. Although NPP pulling out does not significantly impact the BJP’s status in the Manipur assembly, it is the second largest ally in the state and the move can have ramifications in the northeast.
Indian Express has reported that NPP chief Conrad Sangma has mentioned Biren by name in his letter to BJP chief J.P. Nadda “We strongly feel that the Manipur state government under the leadership of Shri Biren Singh has completely failed to resolve the crisis and restore normalcy,” he wrote.
Twenty people have died in the state since November 7, reports say.
Last week, six members of a Meitei family went missing from a shelter camp at Jiribam district following a gun battle that led to the death of people who Manipur police said were 10 armed militants and who have been reported to have belonged to the Kuki community. Five of the six, whom Meitei residents of the camp said had been abducted, were found dead by November 16. Among them is an eight-month-old baby. A 25-year-old woman, the mother of the two deceased children among the five, is missing.
This led to protests across Manipur valley regions, with mobs targeting BJP leaders’ and MLAs’ houses. Internet is suspended in Imphal West, Imphal East, Bishnupur, Thoubal, Kakching, Kangpokpi, and Churachandpur districts. The Imphal West district is also under curfew.
A 61-year-old woman and a two-year-old boy were additionally found floating in a river at Lakhipur in Assam on November 17, The Hindu has meanwhile reported.
In addition, the body of a 27-year-old man from the Kuki-Zo community was recovered in Jiribam. “His hands were tied and he had been shot in the head,” the report quoted the police as having said.
Manipur’s cabinet has, without specifying why, asked the Union home ministry to “review and withdraw” its November 14 notification declaring six police jurisdictions in the state’s Imphal valley and Jiribam as disturbed areas under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act or AFSPA.
