NEW DELHI/GUWAHATI: With violence in Manipur continuing unabated, the chorus for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention is growing louder. Parliament is likely to witness noisy scenes and disruption on Monday as well, as the Opposition parties have planned joint protests on the situation in Manipur.
While the Opposition has been pressing for a statement from PM Modi in Parliament before a discussion on the issue, the government’s position has been that home minister Amit Shah will speak instead.
On Sunday, civil rights activist Irom Sharmila, who hails from Manipur, urged the prime minister to immediately intervene to address the situation. Describing the incident of strip-and-parade of two tribal women as ‘inhuman’, she also demanded that Manipur CM Biren Singh admit his failure and apologise to the people.
Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal, who reached Imphal on Sunday, appealed to Prime Minister Modi and Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani to visit the strife-torn state to understand the ground situation and the extent of people’s suffering.
Meanwhile, 78 Meiteis left Mizoram for Imphal, Guwahati and Kolkata in three different flights on Sunday, a day after 56 of them left for Imphal by a flight from Aizawl. Reports also said 31 Mizo students left Imphal for Aizawl by a flight on Sunday over security concerns.
In the fresh bout of violence that erupted on Saturday evening at Kwakta near the border of Bishnupur and Churachandpur districts, three persons were reportedly injured. According to official sources, two groups were engaged in a gunfight till the early hours of Sunday, during which shots were fired intermittently.