Manipur Violence: Opposition Keeps Up The Heat On Modi Government

New Delhi

Clad in black attires on Thursday as a mark of protest over the Manipur situation, Opposition alliance I.N.D.I.A boycotted a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) of Rajya Sabha even as it decided that a delegation of more than 20 MPs of the grouping will visit the troubled State on July 29-30.

The boycott of the BAC, they said, was in in protest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi not making a statement on Manipur violence in Parliament. The Rajya Sabha BAC has 11 members including the Vice President as its ex-officio chairman. Three MPs — Jairam Ramesh (Congress), Misa Bharti (RJD), and Derek O’Brien (TMC) — from the 26-member newly-formed I.N.D.I.A are on the BAC committee. BRS’s Keshav Rao also gave the meeting a miss.

This was the latest in a slew of meetings that members of the Opposition bloc either walked out of or boycotted over the last few weeks.

In the meantime, the Opposition alliance also decided to send a group of its MPs to Manipur this weekend to assess the situation in the northeastern state where more than 160 persons have been killed and thousands displaced in ethnic clashes between the Kukis and the Meiteis since May 3. The violence in Manipur has been unabated since then.

One MP each from the opposition alliance or a representative is expected to be part of the delegation that will visit both the valley and the hill regions of the state and meet different communities there. They will also visit some relief camps.

Reacting to the Opposition’s black clothes’ protest, Union Minister and Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal took a dig at them saying, “The Opposition’s yesterday was black, their today is black and their future is also black. These people in black clothes cannot understand how India’s power is on the rise. Their hearts are black, and they are wearing black.”

For its part, the Supreme Court asked a petitioner, who sought the constitution of an independent committee under a retired apex court judge to inquire into the incidents of sexual assault and violence in Manipur, to mention his plea for listing before a bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, who did not hold court on Thursday. The matter was mentioned for listing before a bench of Justices S K Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia.

Update

7 Kuki-Zo camps to be relocated to tribal areas

The Union Home Ministry and Manipur’s Kuki-Zo insurgent groups have reached an understanding to relocate seven camps from near Meitei-dominated areas. The decision follows a second round of talks on Monday under the 2008 Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement. “It has been agreed in principle that any relocated camps should be in tribal areas. The locations of the new camps in tribal areas will be discussed at a third meeting to be scheduled,” an official said. While Meiteis have opposed the pact blaming armed Kuki militants for involvement in the protracted strife, Kukis have accused Meitei groups, including Arambai Tenggol, of stoking the violence.