Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party over Manipur violence which has sustained over a month now. “BJP’s politics of hatred has burnt Manipur for over 40 days leaving more than a hundred people dead,” said the Lok Sabha ex-MP in a tweet. Manipur has been on the boil since May 3 after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was taken out by All Tribal Students’ Union of Manipur (ATSUM) opposing majority Meiteis inclusion in Scheduled Tribes (ST) list.
Speaking over the issue, Rahul Gandhi said, “the PM has failed India and is completely silent.”
He also demanded that an all-party delegation must be sent to the strife-torn state “to end this cycle of violence and restore peace.”
“Let’s shut this ‘Nafrat ka Bazaar’ and open a ‘Mohabbat ki Dukaan’ in every heart in Manipur,” he added.
Incidents of sporadic violence have been reported from the northeastern state as ethnic clashes continue between tribal Kukis and Meiteis killing 100 people so far.
At least two houses were set on fire by a mob in Imphal on Thursday as the army and Assam Rifles stepped up their “area domination” operations.
Security forces had to resort to tear gas shells at the agitating mob at New Checkon in Imphal, news agency PTI reported. This comes just a day after a clash broke out between unidentified miscreants and villagers that killed nine people and injured several others in the Khamenlok area.
Notably, the security forces have intensified their efforts in the aftermath of an attack on a Kuki village in the Khamenlok area bordering Imphal East and Kangpokpi districts in the early hours of Wednesday.