NEW DELHI: Lawmakers from the Opposition alliance 'INDIA' will visit Manipur on July 29 and 30 to assess the situation in the northeastern state which is riven with ethnic violence since May 3.
A delegation of over 20 opposition members of parliament will visit Manipur this weekend and will take a first-hand account of the situation in the state, Congress whip in Lok Sabha Manickam Tagore told PTI.
The opposition leaders have been seeking to visit the violence-hit state for some time but were denied permission in view of the situation there.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, however, had visited a few places in Manipur earlier.
Several MPs of the 26-party alliance INDIA will be part of the delegation.
They have been demanding a discussion in both houses of Parliament on Manipur, and also a statement from the Prime Minister on the current situation there.
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More than 160 people have lost their lives, and several have been injured since ethnic violence broke out in the state on May 3, when a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley, while tribals, which include Nagas and Kukis, constitute 40 per cent and reside mostly in the hill districts.
Meanwhile, a two-month-old video that exposed the public molestation of two tribal women has caused national outrage and invoked sharp criticism of the government for its role in failing to curtail the violence. The incident is reported to have occurred on May 4 at B Phainom village in the Kangpokpi district — where two women belonging to the Kuki community were stripped, paraded and publicly molested by a mob allegedly led by the Meitei community.
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