RANCHI: In a first, the opposition bloc INDIA on Tuesday staged demonstrations across the state of Jharkhand demanding imposition of the President's Rule in ethnic strife affected Manipur.
In Ranchi, a dharna was staged near Raj Bhavan, which was participated by leaders of the Congress, JMM, RJD, TMC, AAP and the Left Parties. Similar protests under the banner of INDIA were also held at collectorates of various districts.
The four-hour-long dharna witnessed leaders from almost all the alliance partners of INIDA who expressed their displeasure with the BJP’s 'double-engine government' in Manipur and spewed venom at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The alliance leaders said that the Prime Minister was going on foreign tours while Manipur was burning. They handed over a memorandum which was addressed to President Droupadi Murmu to Governor CP Radhakrishnan demanding President's Rule in Manipur.
Jharkhand Congress president Rajesh Thakur said that the country was ashamed of the stripping of two Kuki-Zo women and parading them in Manipur. “The Prime Minister has been doing his Mann ki Baat but he does not talk about people’s Kaam ki Baat. We have been staging a dharna to remind the Prime Minister that the dignity of the women in this Country is in danger and the nation is going through a tough phase as hatred is at its peak….. you must do something to control it or dismiss the Manipur Government,” Thakur asserted.
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) General Secretary Manoj Pandey said, “Political parties have been demanding a statement from the Prime Minister on Manipur both in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, but he is not paying heed to it."
"It is really unfortunate that despite remarks from the Supreme Court, the Prime Minister is not ready to give his statement on the issue and the Chief Minister still remains on his post under whose protection all these things are happening," Manoj Pandey said.
Daughters are not safe under BJP rule, said Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) spokesperson Yasmin Lal. He dared Prime Minister Modi "to go to Manipur and seek an apology from the daughters there in a face-to-face interaction."
More than 160 people have lost their lives and several others have been injured since ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3 when a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts of the northeastern state to protest against the majority 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, who include Nagas and Kukis, constitute 40 per cent and reside mostly in the hill districts.
READ STORIES ON THE MANIPUR VIOLENCE HERE