NEW DELHI: Faced with the opposition’s demand for removal of Manipur CM N Biren Singh, home minister Amit Shah on Saturday said there is need to tread cautiously in a volatile situation. He cautioned that every move can have consequences.
Removal of Biren Singh, who has been accused of inaction, emerged as the key issue during the three-hour-long deliberations on Manipur at the all-party meeting, chaired by Shah.
Shah told the meeting the government is making all efforts to restore peace in the state and bring about ethnic reconciliation, while seeking help of all parties for return of normalcy. The minister maintained that the Centre has spared no effort to ensure early return of peace to the state, which has witnessed ethnic strife for more than 50 days.
Allow all-party team to visit violence-hit Manipur, says opposition
Saturday’s allparty meeting on Manipur, the first since violence broke out, saw the opposition parties also complaining about PM Narendra Modi’s silence and demanding that an allparty delegation be allowed to visit the strife-torn state.
Countering the opposition charge, BJP president JP Nadda said the PM “has been keeping an eye on the whole issue since day one”. The meeting was marked by protests over former Manipur CM, Congress’ Okram Ibobi Singh, not being given adequate time to deal with the issues he was keen to elaborate. Shah, however, offered to meet Singh separately.
Samajwadi Party even suggested imposition of President’s rule, according to a source. Shah, however, is said to have cautioned against any impulsive decision, saying that every action runs the risk of a counter-action. Shah assured the 18 political parties represented at the meeting — including Congress, Trinamool Congress, DMK, SP, RJD, JD(U), AIADMK, Shiv Sena, AAP, YSR Congress Party and LJP — that their suggestions would be considered “with an open mind”.
Stating that the Modi government is committed to solving the Manipur problem by taking everyone together, he said the priority of the Centre was that no more lives should be lost. A home ministry presentation put out an update on the latest situation as well as the way forward, even though some parties like TMC sought definite timelines.
Shah assured that things were on the mend with reduced deaths and 1,800 of the nearly 4,000 looted weapons recovered. Sources said the parties were told nearly 36,000 security personnel were deployed in the state while 40 IPS officers and 20 medical teams had been sent. Supply of essential items was also being ensured.
The party representatives were informed that work on fencing of 10km of the porous Myanmar-Manipur border was complete, tendering work done for 80 km fencing, and a survey of remaining border areas was under way. Some parties like JD(U), RJD and AAP alleged the crisis could have been building up for some time.
They alleged mismanagement on part of the government, pointing to statements by many MLAs and MPs that “created mistrust between the different communities,” said a source. A TMC statement claimed 250 churches and 17 temples had been burnt or damaged by mobs on a rampage. TMC stated, “The government must first acknowledge its failures and course correct immediately.” it stated.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Trinamool MP Derek O’Brien claimed that the opposition parties “spoke in one united voice for Manipur, northeast and India”.
(With inputs from Mohua Chatterjee and Akhilesh Singh)
Removal of Biren Singh, who has been accused of inaction, emerged as the key issue during the three-hour-long deliberations on Manipur at the all-party meeting, chaired by Shah.
Shah told the meeting the government is making all efforts to restore peace in the state and bring about ethnic reconciliation, while seeking help of all parties for return of normalcy. The minister maintained that the Centre has spared no effort to ensure early return of peace to the state, which has witnessed ethnic strife for more than 50 days.
Allow all-party team to visit violence-hit Manipur, says opposition
Saturday’s allparty meeting on Manipur, the first since violence broke out, saw the opposition parties also complaining about PM Narendra Modi’s silence and demanding that an allparty delegation be allowed to visit the strife-torn state.
Countering the opposition charge, BJP president JP Nadda said the PM “has been keeping an eye on the whole issue since day one”. The meeting was marked by protests over former Manipur CM, Congress’ Okram Ibobi Singh, not being given adequate time to deal with the issues he was keen to elaborate. Shah, however, offered to meet Singh separately.
Samajwadi Party even suggested imposition of President’s rule, according to a source. Shah, however, is said to have cautioned against any impulsive decision, saying that every action runs the risk of a counter-action. Shah assured the 18 political parties represented at the meeting — including Congress, Trinamool Congress, DMK, SP, RJD, JD(U), AIADMK, Shiv Sena, AAP, YSR Congress Party and LJP — that their suggestions would be considered “with an open mind”.
Stating that the Modi government is committed to solving the Manipur problem by taking everyone together, he said the priority of the Centre was that no more lives should be lost. A home ministry presentation put out an update on the latest situation as well as the way forward, even though some parties like TMC sought definite timelines.
Shah assured that things were on the mend with reduced deaths and 1,800 of the nearly 4,000 looted weapons recovered. Sources said the parties were told nearly 36,000 security personnel were deployed in the state while 40 IPS officers and 20 medical teams had been sent. Supply of essential items was also being ensured.
The party representatives were informed that work on fencing of 10km of the porous Myanmar-Manipur border was complete, tendering work done for 80 km fencing, and a survey of remaining border areas was under way. Some parties like JD(U), RJD and AAP alleged the crisis could have been building up for some time.
They alleged mismanagement on part of the government, pointing to statements by many MLAs and MPs that “created mistrust between the different communities,” said a source. A TMC statement claimed 250 churches and 17 temples had been burnt or damaged by mobs on a rampage. TMC stated, “The government must first acknowledge its failures and course correct immediately.” it stated.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Trinamool MP Derek O’Brien claimed that the opposition parties “spoke in one united voice for Manipur, northeast and India”.
(With inputs from Mohua Chatterjee and Akhilesh Singh)
