New Delhi: The Wire’s three-part ‘Manipur Tapes’ series on an audio file provided to the Commission of Inquiry set up by the Ministry of Home Affairs to inquire into the Manipur violence has garnered reactions from several politicians, political parties and bodies.
The file, claimed to be a recording of chief minister N. Biren Singh, if correct, would be evidence of official complicity in the ongoing civil war that has been raging in Manipur since May 3, 2023.
Read parts one, two and three.
Congress MP Jairam Ramesh called the reports shocking. “This needs to be thoroughly and properly investigated,” he wrote.
Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Jha wrote multiple posts on X.
“Thanks [Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty] for uncovering the ‘cover-up’…Let us hope ‘Delhi’ finally wakes up to acknowledge…,” Jha wrote.
He also quoted operative parts from the reports in a post:
“Biren ji!’
“‘Haan sir!’
“‘Arre! Tum bomb marta hai?’ [laughter in the background]
And another:
“Hoi! See, photos are photos, hands could be seen placed here and there. But it is not necessarily the fact.”
Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh has also consistently posted on the piece, adding the audio clips to his posts.
“Listen to how Manipur CM is inciting people against a community,” he wrote, with a link to an audio tape.
“I raised the issue of Manipur violence in the House and I was suspended for 11 months,” he wrote, in another post mentioning the 30-second video clip recorded on May 4, featuring two Kuki-Zo women being paraded naked and being groped by a sizeable mob of men belonging to the Meitei community in Kangpokpi district.
Singh called the purported ‘bomb’ exchange an “explosive” revelation.
The Trinamool Congress has posted through its official handle that the alleged revelation is a “crime committed by CM Biren Singh.”
“Audio tapes reveal that [BJP]-led State Administration in strife-torn Manipur:
❌ Authorised the use of mortar bombs
❌ Shielded looters of arms
❌ Facilitated politically-motivated arrests
❌ Deepened the divide between Meitei and Kuki communities
“This isn’t just a failure – it’s a CRIME committed by CM [Biren Singh] and HM [Amit Shah] who kept him in power!
Manipur’s Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Paolienlal Haokip has posted on X, saying:
“With the release of the Manipur tapes, it became clear now that the violence in Manipur since May 3, 2023 was not an ethnic conflict, but state sponsored ethnic persecution aka ethnic cleansing with the head government in charge.”
In a statement, the Kuki Students’ Organisation said that it “is deeply shocked and outraged by the continued inaction of the Government of India (Gol) regarding the leaked audio recording” of Biren’s.
#ManipurTapes
KSO-GHQ is deeply shocked and outraged by the continued inaction of the Government of India (Gol) regarding the leaked audio recording of #Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh.
Key Points of Concern :
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@SCJudgments @LiveLawIndia @rashtrapatibhvn @UNHumanRights pic.twitter.com/b182xkDLwh— KSO Delhi & NCR (@KSODelhi) August 19, 2024
