The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the parent organisation of the Bharatiya Janata Party, on Monday demanded “an urgent, sincere resolution” of the ethnic violence in Manipur, the Hindutva group’s mouthpiece Organiser reported.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh condemned “the recent spate of brutality, including the inhuman killing of women and children”. It described the actions as “cowardly” and “contrary to the very essence of humanity and peaceful co-existence”.
There has been an uptick in violence in Manipur over the past 10 days, with at least 22 persons having been killed since November 7. At least 255 persons have died and more than 59,000 persons displaced since the clashes broke out between the Meiteis and Kuki-Zo-Hmars in May 2023.
On Sunday night, a 25-year-old Meitei man, Athouba Ningthouja, was shot dead by the state police during protests in Jiribam district.
The firing took place when a mob was vandalising property in the Babupara area to protest the killings of a group of six Meitei women and children who had been abducted allegedly by Kuki militants from Jiribam on November 11.
On Friday, the bodies of a woman and two children, including a two-year-old boy, were found floating on the Barak River at Lakhipur in Assam a day prior.
The body of another woman and child were recovered on Sunday, while that of the sixth missing person was found in floating the Barak river on Monday.
The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, “vehemently condemned” the killings, saying that “the state and Central governments have failed to ensure safety and normalcy in Manipur”, reported The Indian Express on Tuesday. It added that the authorities should be held accountable for their failure to protect lives.
“This act defies even the most basic humanitarian principles, where women and children are traditionally spared…Additionally, the destruction of properties belonging to democratically-elected leaders by enraged mobs is deeply disturbing,” the student body said in a statement and sought “immediate action to restore peace and order, protection for innocent civilians [and] accountability for the failed response”.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh underlined “central and state governments’ responsibility to address the situation promptly”.
Calls for president, prime minister to intervene
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday wrote a letter to President Draupadi Murmu seeking her intervention in the matter. He said that the Union government had failed to bring peace and normalcy to the state the last 18 months.
The Congress leader wrote that “it has become constitutionally imperative” for the president “to uphold the constitutional propriety and immediately intervene to ensure the protection of lives and properties of our own citizens in Manipur”.
“The people of the state have apparently lost confidence in both the governments and reasonably so,” Kharge wrote. “ With every passing day, the people of Manipur are becoming insecure on their own soil, their home turf having witnessed their infants, babies, children and women getting mercilessly killed.”
He also said that the situation had hurt the state’s economy and worsened living conditions for people, with retail inflation rising to 10%.
“This has made the lives of the people of Manipur extremely difficult,” the Congress president wote. “Businesses are closed down, jobs are getting lost, professionals have left their own homes, essential food items, medicines, essential commodities are in scarcity, national highways are blocked since May of 2023, schools and educational institutions are shut down, internally displaced persons are dying of suicide in relief camps.
“The refusal of the Prime Minister to visit Manipur is beyond anybody’s understanding,” he added.
Meanwhile, rights activist Irom Sharmila called for Modi’s direct intervention to end the conflict, warning that reimposing the “draconian” Armed Forces Special Powers Act in parts of the state would only aggravate the situation.
She demanded the resignation of Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh, saying the move would help restore peace, and called on the Centre to hold a referendum in the state to understand the aspirations of citizens.
Notice to MLAs
The Manipur chief minister’s Secretariat issued notices to 11 MLAs, including ministers, for failing to attend a meeting called by Biren Singh on Monday to discuss the state’s law-and-order situation, reported The Hindu.
The MLAs who were asked to explain their absence include Sheikh Noorul Hassan of the National People’s Party from Kshetrigao. The National People’s Party withdrew its support to the BJP-led state government on Sunday.
Except for Hassan and Independent MLA Sapam Nishikanta Singh, who represents Keishamthong, all the other legislators issued notices were from the BJP.
The National People’s Party also issued show-cause notices to three of its MLAs for attending the meeting.
An umbrella body of Meitei civil society organisations has rejected the resolutions passed by National Democratic Alliance legislators during the meeting and demanded “concrete steps” against Kuki insurgent groups, reported NDTV.
The resolutions include a request for the Centre to reconsider reimposing the Armed Forces Special Powers Act in parts of Manipur. The legislators called for a “mass operation” against the suspected Kuki militants responsible for the Jiribam killings within seven days and demanded that they be classified as members of an “unlawful organisation”.
Also read: In Manipur relief camp that came under attack, a grieving Meitei family wants a passage out
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