‘Voters feeling grossly betrayed’: Shashi Tharoor calls for President’s rule in violence-hit Manipur

Manipur,May 7 : Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, taking a jab at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the conflict between tribals and members of the dominant Meitei community in Manipur, has called for the President’s rule in the northeastern state. In light of the outbreak of violence, the voters of Manipur are feeling ‘grossly betrayed’ just a year after voting the BJP back into power, claimed Tharoor.

Clashes broke out between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and the hill-based Kukis on May 3 with armed mobs attacking villages, setting house after house on fire and ransacking shops. This prompted the government to ban the mobile internet services and impose prohibitory orders in violence-affected areas.

“As the Manipur violence persists, all right-thinking Indians must ask themselves what happened to the much-vaunted good governance we had been promised,” Tharoor wrote on Twitter.

 “The voters of Manipur are feeling grossly betrayed just a year after putting the BJP in power in their state. It’s time for President’s Rule; the state Govt is just not up to the job they were elected to do,” he added.

The Manipur High Court had on April 20 directed the state government to consider within four weeks the request of the Meitei community to be included in the Scheduled Tribes list. The court asked that the recommendation be sent to the Centre for its consideration.

Kuki organisations held a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ on Wednesday to protest against the move to include Meiteis in the ST category. Violence spiralled after the march.

The Army, Assam Rifles, paramilitary forces were rushed to the violence-hit state in the aftermath of the violence and the situation is now under control. As many as 54 people have been killed and more than 150 have been injured in Manipur, PTI reported quoting officials.

The total curfew that prohibited the movement of any person outside their homes will be relaxed for three hours in violence-hit Manipur’s Churachandpur district on Sunday morning to allow people to buy essential items such as medicines and food, according to a notification. The curfew imposed under section 144 of the CrPC will be relaxed from 7 am to 10 am, it said.

Manipur CM N Biren Singh on Saturday held an emergency all-party meeting in Imphal to discuss ways to bring peace to the state. The meeting resolved to form a peace committee in every assembly constituency to ensure that peace initiatives are implemented at the grassroots level.

In the meeting, all political parties in the state also decided to appeal for peace and encourage all citizens to avoid any actions that could lead to further violence or instability.

-PTI