New Delhi: Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh has alleged that the Opposition conspired to create unrest in the state even as he said normalcy was returning and the central government had assured all possible help in the rehabilitation of those affected by the ethnic violence.
Speaking to ThePrint Thursday, he said, “The video of the two women who were gang raped on 4 May in Thoubal was leaked on 19 July, a day before the monsoon session of Parliament. Is the timing not suspect? This seems like a conspiracy by the opposition parties to create unrest in the state. I was not aware of this case, otherwise the police would have acted much earlier. We have taken all efforts to bring back normalcy to the state.”
Singh, who met Union Home Minister Amit Shah earlier in the day, said he has been assured that the Centre will back the efforts of the state to “settle the displaced persons”.
“I met Amit Shah ji and he has said both the rehabilitation and peace restoration process should go simultaneously. He has assured us of all assistance from the Centre. We apprised him of the current situation and how things are much better, especially after the speech by PM Modi and Amit Shah ji in Parliament,” he added.
The Manipur CM said work is in progress to rehabilitate those displaced, including people whose houses were burnt during the violence. “We have already constructed temporary housing for those affected, Rs 149 crore was approved for constructing 3,000 pre-fabricated housing units and 400 families have been provided these units.”
According to state government sources, Singh requested the Union home minister to provide Rs 150-200 crore for rehabilitating those whose houses were burnt. “The focus is now on rehabilitation and we would like to settle families whose houses were burnt down. A total of 4,000 houses will have to be constructed, but we are planning to start with 1,000,” said a source.
Meanwhile, the CM said that while the present crisis was unfortunate, it was not a law and order situation as it was being made out to be.
Some BJP MLAs and Meitei civil society groups have also accused the Assam Rifles of being biased, demanding their withdrawal from inter district sensitive zones. The Assam Rifles are administratively under the Ministry of Home Affairs and operationally controlled by the Army.
Responding to these allegations, the chief minister said not everyone can be painted with the same brush.
Ethnic clashes between Manipur’s tribal Kuki and non-tribal Meitei communities erupted on 3 May following a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ taken out to oppose the demand for inclusion of Meiteis in the Scheduled Tribes (ST) category and for what was described as an effort to secure the rights and constitutional safeguards of the Kukis and their sub-tribes.
According to police data, the violence has so far claimed over 150 lives and displaced more than 50,000.
Also read: Parents of Imphal teen couple missing for weeks fear the worst — ‘just kids who went for a ride’
Central help to end illegal migration
Following a military coup in Myanmar, a number of Kuki migrants took shelter in Manipur in February 2021.
To put an end to “illegal migration” from neighbouring Myanmar, CM Biren Singh said he has sought more central forces to complete the fencing of the 398-km porous international border.
He added that the state will also be asking for an extension of the central government’s 30 September deadline to complete the process of recording the biometrics of illegal migrants lodged at a detention centre in Imphal.
According to media reports, in a drive conducted by the Manipur government in April, over 2,800 illegal migrants from Myanmar were found to be residing in the state.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
Also read: Manipur violence: 5,107 arson cases, 71 murders but police yet to start probe in most