New Delhi: A day after the home of Union minister Rajkumar Ranjan Singh was set ablaze, mobs tried to target the residence of BJP state president A. Sharda Devi and BJP MLA Biswajeet Singh but their attempts were foiled by security personnel in the intervening night of Friday and Saturday.
The mobs also tried to vandalise the ruling party’s office in Imphal, and torched the warehouse of a retired tribal IAS officer.
The attacks on the BJP leaders have left the party worried as there is no improvement even after efforts by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) chairman Himanta Biswa Sarma’s efforts to restore law and order.
The National People’s Party (NPP), meanwhile, said it would be forced to reconsider its support to the Biren Singh-led BJP government if there was no improvement in the situation in Manipur.
In the intervening night of Friday and Saturday, the RAF managed to disperse a mob that had gathered to attack the residence of BJP MLA Biswajeet Singh. Similarly, the Army foiled the plan of mobs to vandalise the BJP office at Singjamei and the house of Sharda Devi in Imphal west.
“They (mob) could not reach the residence and forces were able to disperse them. They also tried to storm the BJP office…Situation is tense in the town; I was unable to sleep. It’s unfortunate. The state is doing its bit to restore peace, but my only request to both communities is that there can be different ways but our goal — development of the state. The government is against illegal immigrants, not against any community. Every community has fought for Manipur. …the party is concerned but we are optimistic that the government will ensure peace,” Sharda told ThePrint.
The mobs had torched the Imphal house of Singh on Thursday night and the official residence of Manipur minster Nemcha Kipgen, a Kuki leader, in Lamphel area of Imphal West district on Wednesday evening.
Three-time BJP MLA Vungzagin Valte nearly lost his life in a mob attack on 4 May while returning from a meeting with Chief Minister N.Biren Singh. The Kuki MLA escaped with grievous injuries and is still believed to be critical.
“Despite the presence of central forces, the law and order situation has totally failed in Manipur. The existing government could not maintain law and order despite assistance from the Centre. I don’t know why the state government’s mechanism has failed. We were not there at the time of attack, or else it could have been a serious danger to our lives. The Union home minister called me and I narrated the entire incident,” Singh, the minister of state for external affairs, told ThePrint.
“I was shocked. I never expected such an attitude from fellow citizens…I immediately called security advisor Kuldeep Singh and he sent reinforcements and we were rescued earlier (on 25 May). But this time, I was away when the mob stormed and torched the house. I don’t know why they are attacking me. I have urged the prime minister to bring peace to the state. … I am trying to bring peace but there is a huge distrust among communities and the state government is not able to bring normalcy,” he added.
Everything was normal on Thursday night and then, suddenly, a mob carried out the attack, the Inner Manipur MP said, adding that the fire brigade personnel could not enter the area as people blocked the road.
Ethnic clashes between Kukis and Meiteis have claimed at least 100 lives, injured more than 300 and displaced over 50,000 from their homes in Manipur, after the situation spiralled out of control following violence on 3 May after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was taken out to oppose the demand for inclusion of non-tribal Meiteis in the ST category.
The Congress has demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should convene an all-party meeting on the Manipur crisis, with party general secretary organisation K. C. Venugopal tweeting that even allies of the state government were losing patience over its failure to restore peace.
NPP vice-president and former deputy chief minister Yumnam Joykumar Singh expressed disappointment with the efforts made by the Biren Singh-led BJP government to contain the violence.
“It looks like the Centre and the state have lost grip of the situation. The Union home minister gave assurance that there will be significant development after 15 days. The security advisor was appointed, but we can’t see any significant improvement in the situation. The state is burning. How long can we wait? The NPP will be forced to reconsider its decision of supporting the government,” he told ThePrint.
While the NPP has seven MLAs, the BJP sits comfortably as it has an absolute majority with 32 seats in the 60-member assembly.
Though the NPP threat may not hamper the stability of the Biren Singh-led BJP government, a section within the BJP feels that the CM has lost plot and that the ethnic violence can’t be stopped till he is in chair.
“We are in a Catch 22 situation. It’s clear that Biren Singh has lost the confidence of all communities in the state. Replacing him can be an option but it’s also true that the divide between the two communities is at such a huge level that no person can’t bring immediate peace since there is divide in the forces, the communities and the police,” a senior central BJP leader told ThePrint.
The Kuki MLAs have already demanded the resignation of Biren Singh, but the Centre has not paid any attention to it yet knowing the complexity of the situation.
“The BJP government in Manipur is responsible for the situation and Biren Singh is responsible for this. Without replacing him, there can’t be any solution in the state as tribals do not trust the Biren Singh government,” BJP Kuki MLA Paolienlal Haokip told ThePrint.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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