'Houses, churches, police stations burnt': Congress panel says Manipur crisis grave, urges PM to call meet

Congress leader and a member of the probe panel Ajoy Kumar said the situation in Manipur can be assessed "from the fact that 20 police stations, 2000 houses, 150 churches have been burnt; and 1000 semi-automatic rifles have been looted from the police with around 150 armed squads roaming free.

New Delhi:A Congress panel, which probed the recent Manipur violence, has expressed concern over the situation in the north-eastern state and demanded that the Prime Minister must immediately call a meeting to open dialogue between the warring Meitis and Kukis.

The three-member fact-finding panel comprising Mukul Wasnik, Ajoy Kumar and Sudip Roy Burman had been named by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge on May 17. "We demand that the PM, HM should call a meeting of the community leaders to hold peace talks. No one is talking to each other in the state. The Meitis and the Kukis are running their own relief camps. The state government is nowhere to be seen providing relief and restoring peace. There is a need for a dialogue between the two main communities,” senior Congress leader and a member of the probe panel Ajoy Kumar said.

“There should be immediate rehabilitation for the 54000 displaced people. The situation in Manipur can be assessed from the fact that 20 police stations have been burnt, 2000 houses have been burnt, 1000 semi-automatic rifles have been looted from the police, 150 Churches have been burnt and around 150 armed squads are roaming free,” he said.

According to the Congress leader, the Centre must take note of the huge social unrest in Manipur which is a border state. “The crisis is now not only limited to Manipur. Thousands of displaced persons have crossed over to Mizoram. Besides, social unrest in a border state can be exploited by our neighbours. There is no security in the border areas. Worse, arson started again on Tuesday,” said Ajoy Kumar, a former IPS officer.

“If Manipur migrants are moving to Mizoram, the problem is expanding to other states. The Centre should understand this. There has been no tweet from either the PM or the HM over the crisis,” he said. According to the Congress leader, the BJP ministers used to visit Manipur before the elections several times but they too have been silent over the recent flare-up.

“The hills people and the plains people have shifted locations. It has never happened in the state. There has been an attempt to cover up the tragedy in Manipur. The PM is abroad doing rallies and there is no one to wipe the tears of the people in the state,” said Kumar. The Congress leader blamed the state government for fomenting trouble.

“They wanted to disturb the law and order. There was no discussion on it as the flare-up happened during the Karnataka polls. The problem actually started on May 3, when the Vice President visited the state. Why was permission for the procession given,” he said. “CM Biren Singh labelled the Kuki tribes as immigrants. We elected a government which does not care. The biggest worry is that the narrative has passed on into the hands of the extremists from both sides. The state is nowhere,” said Kumar.

Citing an instance, the Congress leader said that 70 bodies were lying unclaimed in the Imphal mortuary and as many as 10 bodies were lying unclaimed in a hospital in Churachandpur, from where the problems started. “This shows that people are so afraid that they are not even claiming bodies of kith and kin,” he added.