New Delhi: The ongoing violence in Manipur continued Thursday as a mob attacked and set on fire the residence of Union Minister Rajkumar Ranjan Singh in Kongba region of Imphal. The minister and his family were away in Kerala when the incident took place. No one was injured in the fire.
In a statement to ANI, the minister said, “It is extremely sad to see what happened last night. I was told that more than 50 miscreants attacked my home around 10 pm. Damage has been done to the ground floor and the first floor of my residence. Neither me nor anybody from my family was present during that time. Thankfully, nobody got injured.”
Since May, Manipur has seen violence and over a 100 deaths due to ongoing clashes between ethnic communities Meiteis and Kukis. Tension startged after the Manipur High Court asked the state to include the valley-based Meiteis in the Scheduled Tribes list. The Kukis live in the state’s hilly areas and comrpise 10 percent of the population, to the Meiteis 90 percent.
While Singh is from the Meitei community, he asked both sides to refrain from violence, expressed shock at the continuous fighting. He told news agency ANI: “The law and order situation in Manipur has totally failed.”
This is the second instance of a mob burning down a minister’s house. On Wednesday in Imphal West, a mob attempted to burn the residence of Manipur minister Nemcha Kipgen.
Rajkumar Ranjan Singh is the Minister of State for External Affairs and Education, and had recently held a meeting with Meitei and Kuki communities to discuss peace in the region. “An eye for an eye will make the whole world go blind. Violence doesn’t help any cause. Those who are indulging in this violence are doing a huge disservice to the nation. It also reflects that they are enemies of humanity,” Singh told ANI.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah had visited the state in the end of May, and announced the formation of a peace committee. The committee, led by the state governor and comprising the Chief Minister and MLAs, is tasked with negotiating dialogue and peace between the two ethnic communities.
Meanwhile, central paramilitary forces have been deployed in the state, and internet lockdowns have been enforced.
With inputs from ANI News
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