Union home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday ruled out Manipur chief minister N. Biren Singh’s resignation over the ongoing violence in the BJP-ruled state and said that the Centre was talking to the Meitei and Kuki communities to ensure lasting peace.
On the speculation that Biren Singh might step down over his alleged mishandling of the ongoing crisis, Shah asked: “Who is saying he is resigning?”
About the possible visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Manipur, Shah said: “When he visits the state, it will be known to everyone.” The Opposition has slammed Modi for “studiously avoiding” a visit to the “most troubled state”.
Speaking at a press conference marking the 100 days of the third term of the NDA government, Shah said that barring three days of violence last week, “the overall situation in Manipur has been calm and the government has been working to restore peace in the state”. He said that apart from the three days of violence, no major incidents had been reported in the last three months.
Eleven people have died in the latest violence since September 11 between suspected Kuki militants and Meitei village volunteers against the backdrop of unprecedented drone and rocket attacks in the strife-hit state. Manipur has witnessed ethnic violence since May last year, leaving at least 234 dead and over 60,000 displaced.
“I am hopeful that we will be able to control the situation. We are talking to both communities. It was ethnic violence and unless there is dialogue between the two communities, no solution can be found,” the home minister said.
“We are talking to the Kuki and Meitei groups and we have prepared a roadmap and will take all possible steps to ensure peace.” Shah said the government had deployed CRPF personnel at strategic locations across Manipur. He added that in the first 100 days of the third-term Modi government, work on fencing the India-Myanmar border had begun. “Fencing work along 30km has been completed. Besides, the government of India has approved the budget for fencing along the 1,500km border,” he said.
Shah said the government had scrapped the India-Myanmar Free Movement Regime, which allows people residing close to the border between the two countries to venture 16km into each other’s territory without documents.
