New Delhi: Sending a clear message that
violence does not pay, Home Minister P Chidambaram has accused
Naga insurgent group NSCN-IM of indulging in kidnapping and
other unlawful activities despite holding peace talks with the
government.
Chidambaram also said security forces continue to be
deployed in Manipur to ensure safety and security of
Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), polling personnel and the
candidates.
"NSCN-IM is in talks with the Government of India. There
is an interlocutor. But it is also true that NSCN-IM cadres
along with some other organisations continue to indulge in
kidnapping and some time violence," he told reporters here
Wednesday evening.
Condemning the recent violence perpetrated allegedly by
NSCN-IM cadres, the Home Minister said though NSCN-IM
leadership denied that their cadres were involved in most of
these incidents, the government has enough intelligence which
suggested that the insurgent group`s cadres were behind many
of these incidents.
"I hope that the message will go to the NSCN-IM or any
other group that violence does not pay," he said.
Referring to the violence during the recent Manipur
assembly elections, Chidambaram said he was unhappy that on
the day of polling (January 28), there was a "bad" incident in
Chandel.
"But please remember, except for that incident (in which
seven people were killed) and at the very beginning, when I
think two Assam Rifles people were killed, by and large this
election in Manipur has been violence-free," he said.
PTI
