New Delhi: DMK MP Tiruchi Siva, who attended an all-party meeting convened by Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday over the Manipur situation in New Delhi, said Shah has assured opposition leaders of taking all necessary steps to restore peace and normalcy in the violence-hit state.
Siva also said the opposition party leaders unanimously urged Shah to deploy more forces and allow an all-party delegation to visit the violence-hit northeastern state. "We raised our concern about the ongoing violence in Manipur for the past more than 50 days. The Home Minister just listened to every one of us. And he said that he is looking after it & said trust me. I'll restore peace. We requested that the all-party delegation has to be sent to Manipur," he said.
The leader further questioned the silence of PM Narendra Modi, who has not expressed his concern over the violence in Manipur. According to Siva, Shah on being urged to deploy more forces in the frontier state that shares long borders with Myanmar, said that the Centre already ensured the deployment of more police in the state to contain the violence.
"It is not law and order breakdown to be controlled by police and army or Assam rifles. It is a failure of the governance in the state and the union government," the DMK leader said. Leaders of different political parties, including the BJP, Congress, Trinamool Congress, Left parties, and others, are taking part in the crucial meeting which is being held in the Parliament building. The meeting started at 3 pm.
Those who attended the meeting included BJP chief JP Nadda, former Manipur chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh (Congress), Derek O'Brien (Trinamool Congress), Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Singh (NPP), M Thambi Durai (AIADMK), Tiruchi Siva (DMK), Pinaki Misra (BJD), Sanjay Singh (Aam Aadmi Party), Manoj Jha (RJD) and Priyanka Chaturvedi (Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray).
Union ministers Pralhad Joshi, Nityanand Rai, and Ajay Kumar Mishra, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, and Director of Intelligence Bureau Tapan Deka also attended the important meeting. Over 120 people died and 3,000 were injured since violent clashes broke out in Manipur after a Tribal Solidarity March was organised in the hill districts on May 3 to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. Former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi has condemned the violence, saying it has caused severe suffering in Manipur.
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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led coalition in the state has been at the receiving end for not initiating the necessary steps to stop the violence. The Opposition parties have also taken potshots at the BJP, saying that its 'double engine' government at the Centre and in Manipur could not restore peace and order in the northeastern state.
Earlier, Amit Shah visited Manipur and chaired a meeting with Chief Minister N. Biren Singh and top officials in Imphal. He had announced a series of measures to restore peace in the state, including the formation of a peace committee under Manipur Governor. The Centre has already announced an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh to the kin of those killed in the violence.
