Imphal: Amid fresh violence in Manipur, the N Biren Singh-led government has extended AFSPA in the hill areas of the state for six more months beginning October 1, an official notification announced on Wednesday.
The notification excludes 19 police stations of the valley. The notification comes even as pressure is mounting on the central government to sack Chief Minister Singh as his state has been burning for months now given the ethnic conflict between Kukis and Meiteis.
In this regard, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and demanded that he sack the BJP's "incompetent" chief minister as a first step to control the turmoil.
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For 147 days, people of Manipur are suffering, but PM Modi does not have time to visit the state.
— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) September 27, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
The horrific images of students being targeted in this violence has once again shocked the entire nation.
It is now apparent that violence against women and children was weaponised…
">For 147 days, people of Manipur are suffering, but PM Modi does not have time to visit the state.
— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) September 27, 2023
The horrific images of students being targeted in this violence has once again shocked the entire nation.
It is now apparent that violence against women and children was weaponised…For 147 days, people of Manipur are suffering, but PM Modi does not have time to visit the state.
— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) September 27, 2023
The horrific images of students being targeted in this violence has once again shocked the entire nation.
It is now apparent that violence against women and children was weaponised…
In a post on X on Wednesday, the Congress leader also said the northeastern state has turned into a "battlefield" because of the BJP and violence against women and children has been weaponised.
"For 147 days, people of Manipur are suffering, but PM Modi does not have time to visit the state. The horrific images of students being targeted in this violence have once again shocked the entire nation," Kharge said. "It is now apparent that violence against women and children was weaponised in this strife. The beautiful state of Manipur has been turned into a battlefield, all because of the BJP," he said.
"High time, PM Modi sacks BJP's incompetent Manipur Chief Minister. This would be the first step to control any further turmoil," Kharge said. His remarks came after a clash broke out in the Singjamei area of Imphal on Tuesday night between RAF personnel and locals protesting the killing of two students, who had been missing since July 6. The security personnel lobbed tear gas shells and fired rubber bullets at the protesters and lathi-charged them, leaving 45 of them, mostly students, injured.
Manipur has been on edge since ethnic clashes broke out in the state on May 3, when a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the majority Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe status. In a post on its official X handle, the Congress party targeted Modi, accusing him of not bothering about Manipur but his own image.
Violence has been going on in Manipur for almost 150 days, hundreds of lives have been lost in the state and thousands of families have been rendered homeless, it said. "The recent murder of two students who went missing in July has shocked the entire country. The situation in the state is not improving. In such a situation, the BJP government of the state should be dismissed immediately.
"It is also clear that PM Modi is not concerned about the people of Manipur, he is only concerned about his image. He is just busy with campaigning for elections," the Congress said in a post in Hindi.
Also read: Manipur violence: Mobs try to storm police stations over arrest of 5 youths, curfew reimposed
