Manipur Violence: Mamata Banerjee Urges PM Modi, Amit Shah To Restore Peace

Image Credits: IANS

Kolkata: Expressing concern over violence-hit Manipur, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to restore peace there. "I am deeply concerned about the situation in Manipur. It is not the time for politics. Politics and elections can wait but our beautiful state Manipur has to be protected first. Thus I urge the Prime Minister and Home Minister to first take care of Manipur, and restore peace there. I also urge our brothers and sisters of Manipur to stay calm, uphold peace and harmony.

If we burn humanity today then we will seize to be a human tomorrow," tweeted Mamata Banerjee. Violence broke out on May 3 during the `Tribal Solidarity March` called by the All Tribal Student Union Manipur (ATSUM) in the Torbung area of Churachandpur district to protest the demand by Meiteis, who dominate the Imphal Valley, for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. Earlier on Thursday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah held two meetings over video-conferencing and spoke with the Chief ministers of Manipur and neighboring states over violence in the northeastern state.

Manipur government has issued shoot-at-sight orders in "extreme cases" to deal with the law and order situation. Internet services continue to remain suspended in the wake of the violence that broke out during the `Tribal Solidarity March` called by the All Tribal Student Union Manipur (ATSUM) on Wednesday. To tackle the worsening law and order situation after tribal groups took out rallies in several districts of Manipur, the State government has suspended mobile internet in the state for five days.

Along with a ban on large gatherings, a night curfew too has been imposed in several districts of the State. In view of the situation, a curfew has been imposed in non-tribal-dominated Imphal West, Kakching, Thoubal, Jiribam, and Bishnupur districts, and tribal-dominated Churachandpur, Kangpokpi, and Tengnoupal districts.

Following the incident, additional state forces were deployed to maintain law and order in the district. Sources said steps have been taken up to identify the illegal immigrants in the state to counter anti-national elements.

A sub-committee has been formed to carry out identification drives of illegal migrants in the various districts, the sources said, adding that Manipur Population Commission has been constituted to gather data and ground reports. The state government is also setting up temporary shelters for Myanmar nationals who have entered the state.