Brinda Karat has revealed that the governor of Manipur, Anusuiya Uikey, told her and the All India Democratic Women’s Association that she is "deeply concerned" about the violence in Manipur but her words of advice are being ignored by the N. Biren Singh government.

In an interview with Karan Thapar, Karat – a member of the CPI(M) politburo – says the governor told the AIDWA delegation that she’s very happy that the Supreme Court has taken suo moto cognizance of the sexual assault of three Kuki women by a mob that was captured on video. This is the first suggestion of differences between the governor of Manipur and the state government over the response to the crisis in the state.

Karat recounts her meeting with two survivors of terrible sexual assaults as well as with the parents of two girls who were gang-raped and killed. The first survivor is one of the women who was paraded naked in the horrifying video that was circulated on social media last month. The second is a 15-year-old girl who was raped by four militant men in uniform and thrown off a cliff but mercifully survived.

Karat also met the parents of two girls who worked in a car wash in Imphal and were gang raped and killed.

She says that even after 100 days, the chief minister has made no effort to meet the victims. It seems neither has his administration reached out to them. She speaks of “the culpability of the Biren Singh government”.

Brinda Karat’s account of what she saw and heard whilst she was in Manipur last week is extremely powerful. Please watch the video for complete details.

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