New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Tuesday that a solution to the issues in Manipur will be found through peace.
“In some areas of the northeast, specially Manipur and also in other areas of India, during the period of violence, lots of lives have been lost, especially in Manipur. The respect and honour of our daughters and mothers have been toyed with. However, since the last couple of days, reports of peace have been coming in. India is with Manipur. The peace needs to continue and solutions will only be found through peace,” Modi said in his speech at the Red Fort on the 77th Independence Day.
The women of Manipur have suffered much, he said.
“The nation is with Manipur,” he said. “The central and state governments are making all efforts for a solution and will continue to do so”.
The ethnic clash which erupted in the state on 3 May followed a solidarity march called by the All Tribal Students’ Union of Manipur to oppose the Meitei demand for Scheduled Tribe status, which the Kukis say is a bid to secure constitutional safeguards for the community.
More than 150 people have been killed, scores more wounded and over 50,000 have been displaced in the clashes.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is probing 17 cases of violence.
In his speech, Modi said “serial bomb blasts” are a thing of the past and that the country’s border is now more secure.
“The era of serial blasts is over. Today, the country is seeing a drop in terror attacks. The naxal-prone areas have also seen a drastic change,” the prime minister said.
He further said that he had “full faith in India’s youth power”.
“Whatever steps we take today will decide India’s direction for the next 1000 years,” he said, and added that India’s smaller cities may be “small in terms of size and population, but not in terms of potential”.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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