An anxious Mary Kom on Thursday made an emotional appeal on Twitter to the Centre and Manipur government to ensure normalcy in Manipur which, she said, is 'burning'.
Earlier, Army and paramilitary forces have been deployed in Manipur and flag marches are being held to control the situation after violence erupted broke out at the Torbung in Churachandpur district on Wednesday during a rally organised by the All Tribals Students Union (ATSU) Manipur to protest the demand for inclusion of Meitei/Meetei in the Scheduled Tribe category. Social media visuals also showed arson and violence in the state evoking shock from netizens. Reacting to the incident, Mary Kom in a Twitter video said, “My state Manipur is burning, kindly help."
The Olympian also expressed her shock in a Twitter message in the early hours of the day, sharing photos of violence. She tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh in her tweet. “I am not feeling good about the situation in Manipur. Since last night, the situation has deteriorated. I appeal to State and Central governments to take steps for the situation and maintain peace and security in the state. It is unfortunate that some people lost their family members in this violence. This situation must get normal at the earliest,” she said.
Thousands of tribals — who make up about 40 per cent of the state’s population — joined the processions, waved placards and raised slogans opposing ST status for the Meitei. Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to Manipur CM N Biren Singh and enquired about the Centre monitoring situation in the state said officials. Singh also appealed people to maintain peace amid reports of violence during a tribal agitation in Torbung area of Churachandpur district on Wednesday night.
So far, 7,500 people were rescued by the forces from the violence-hit areas, and given shelter, he said, adding that more people are being shifted to safer places. The Army and Assam Rifles were requisitioned last night, and along with the state police, the forces arrested the violence by the morning.
