Imphal: Union minister of state (Home) Nityanand Rai and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Sambit Patra are scheduled to visit Churachandpur in violence-hit Manipur Friday, ahead of Home Minister Amit Shah’s expected visit to the state, ThePrint has learnt.
While speaking in Guwahati Thursday, Shah had spoken about the violence in Manipur earlier this month, and made an appeal for peace. He had also said that he will travel to Manipur and talk to people there.
The home minister is expected to arrive in Imphal on Monday, 29 May, and remain in the state till 1 June.
Addressing the media in Imphal Thursday, Rai and Patra said Shah has taken the conflict in Manipur very seriously and his visit will ensure that Manipur is peaceful again. Manipur transport minister Khashim Vashum was also present at the event.
“Manipur has developed a lot in nine years under PM Modi. Manipur’s peaceful development is the central government’s priority. It is unfortunate what has happened here and it’s a hindrance to the state’s development,” said Rai. The Union Home Minister will be fair to all, irrespective of the community they belong, he added.
Violence erupted between Manipur’s ethnic Kuki tribals and non-tribal Meitei community earlier this month, following a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ held to protest plans to give Scheduled Tribe status to Meiteis. In March, the Manipur high court had in a judgment directed the state government to consider the inclusion of the Meitei community in the state’s Scheduled Tribe list.
While an appeal has been filed against the judgment, the Supreme Court earlier this month also made a critical remark against it.
Meanwhile, residents of Churachandpur who ThePrint spoke to Friday said that there has been a complete shutdown in the district since morning.
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‘Justice will be done for everyone’
Speaking at the at the foundation stone laying ceremony of the Guwahati campus of the National Forensic Sciences University in Assam Thursday, Shah had appealed to the people of Manipur to maintain peace.
“There were clashes in Manipur after the verdict of a court. I appeal to both groups that they should maintain peace. I assure you from the central government that justice will be done for everyone. We will not spare those who are creating violence,” said Shah.
He added: “I myself will go to Manipur after a few days and will stay there for three days. I will talk to the brothers and sisters of Manipur for establishing peace. But peace can be brought by the people of Manipur themselves. I am confident that it can be restored only after negotiations.”
Shah termed the Manipur High Court’s 27 March order, which directed the state government to submit a recommendation for including the Meitei community in the list of a Scheduled Tribe (ST) within four weeks, the root cause of unrest in the state.
“I appeal to the people of Manipur to restore peace, which the state has seen in the last six years. Not a single bomb was blasted here, no blockade happened. But today, the violence that has started after a court’s order, that should be resolved with negotiations,” he said.
Fifteen Manipur MLAs from across parties had gone to Guwahati Thursday to meet Shah to appraise him of the current situation in the state and discuss how peace be restored.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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