Leaders of the Congress and the Left held a demonstration on Jantar Mantar Road in Delhi on Monday demanding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi visit Manipur and that chief minister N. Biren Singh be sacked.

Former Congress chief minister O. Ibobi Singh said: “Sometimes we feel that the people of the entire country think that… let them kill each other….Whomsoever can conquer… let them rule the state.”

Ibobi Singh added: “Today what is happening in Manipur, if it had happened in any other state, for example Gujarat, will Mr Modi and Amit Shah be silent spectators for 19 months?... If they think that Manipur is not a part of India, that is alright….

“Only in 1949 Manipur was merged with India. The younger generation thinks why…. Did our then ruler King Bodhchandra easily accept the merger? Because of that we are suffering…. But the INDIA bloc, and particularly the Congress, believes in the Gandhian theory and peace without violence. We will continue to fight until complete normality is restored. We are part and parcel of this country.”

In its memorandum to the Prime Minister, the INDIA bloc said he should urgently visit the state to restore normality, that he be held responsible for the turmoil, that the Union home minister “resign on moral grounds” and the chief minister be sacked.

The INDIA bloc leaders from Manipur said they had not received an appointment with the Prime Minister. Leaders of the CPI, CPM, All Indian Forward Bloc and CPIML-Liberation also addressed the meeting.

CPIML-Liberation MP Raja Ram Singh told The Telegraph: “We won’t tolerate small states being humiliated like this and that’s why we have been sloganeering in the well of the House, as the government is not allowing a proper discussion on Manipur and other issues. The Constitution doesn’t discriminate on the basis of creed or ethnicity. Only the BJP is doing this and we are all here to resist this.”

Net ban lifted

The Manipur government on Monday lifted the temporary suspension of Internet and data services in nine districts of the strife-hit state.

The Internet ban lift came with a “request” to users to “refrain” from indulging in any activity that might affect law and order and lead to future suspension of services.