Nagpur/New Delhi
Maintaining that the Meitei and Kuki communities have been living together for many years, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Tuesday wondered whether extremists from across the border were involved in the Manipur violence that continues unabated since it first erupted on May 3 this year.
Addressing the RSS Dussehra rally in Nagpur, Bhagwat said, “For many years, Meitei and Kuki communities have been living together. How did the violence erupt all of a sudden? The conflict benefits external forces. Are external factors involved. Union Home Minister Amit Shah was there for three days. Who actually fuelled the conflict? It (violence) is not happening, it is being made to happen.”
The RSS chief cautioned against attempts to garner votes by inflaming emotions ahead of 2024 general elections and asked people to vote keeping in mind unity, integrity, identity and development of the country.
Bhagwat lauded the RSS workers saying he was proud of the Sangh workers who worked in Manipur to restore peace. At the same time, he lashed out at the Left saying, some anti-social people call themselves cultural Marxists or woke but they have forgotten Marx.
On Monday, in the latest such instance, the Manipur Police, in collaboration with central armed forces personnel, conducted a joint operation resulting in the seizure of a variety of weapons, ammunition, drugs, and cash from the Myanmar-based militant group CKLA (Chin Kuki Liberation Army).
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh announced it on his social media handle on X, saying, “The seized weapons include AK47, Insas, Sniper and M16 rifles along with (a) huge cache of ammunition. Further, opium weighing about 2.5 kg, Rs 4,86,500 cash and various other items were also recovered.”
The CM said that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had previously initiated cases that indicated a ‘transnational conspiracy’ involving terrorist organizations in neighbouring Myanmar and Bangladesh. These groups were allegedly plotting to wage war against the Indian government by exploiting the unrest in Manipur.
“Today’s apprehension of CKLA cadres and the recovery of weapons has yet again underscored a transnational plot aimed at destabilising both Manipur and our nation,” CM Singh stressed.
The NIA has revealed that militant groups based in Myanmar and Bangladesh have entered into a conspiracy with a section of militant groups in India to carry out violent activities in Manipur and drive a wedge between different communities.
Besides the home-grown and foreign militants, security forces are also having to do with illegal migrants from Myanmar. A couple of days ago, the Manipur police arrested three Myanmarese nationals for stealing furniture and electrical appliances from the houses of those displaced.
The Biren Singh government had earlier questioned the efficacy of the Assam Rifles guarding the Indo-Myanmar border as it claimed more than 700 illegal migrants from Myanmar had sneaked in illegally. Home Minister Amit Shah had earlier blamed “illegal migrants” from Myanmar for the Manipur violence.
