Centre Forms Peace Committee In Crisis-Hit Manipur To Be Headed By Guv, Members Include CM, Ministers

The government of India has constituted Peace Committee in Manipur under the Chairpersonship of the Manipur Governor to resolve the tensions in the state.

The government of India has constituted Peace Committee in Manipur under the Chairpersonship of the Manipur Governor. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the members of the committee include the Chief Minister, a few Ministers of the State Government, MP, MLAs and leaders from different political parties. The Committee also includes former civil servants, educationists, litterateurs, artists, social workers and representatives of different ethnic groups.

MHA said that the mandate of the Committee will be to facilitate the peacemaking process among various ethnic groups of the state, including peaceful dialogue and negotiations between conflicting parties or groups. The Committee should strengthen social cohesiveness, and mutual understanding and facilitate cordial communication between various ethnic groups, the ministry added, as reported by ANI.

The development comes days after Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited the strife-torn state to take stock of the security situation here. During his visit, Shah announced a CBI probe to investigate six FIRs -- five on alleged criminal conspiracy and one on general conspiracy -- behind the violence in Manipur. Acting on a reference from the state routed through the Centre, the central agency registered six cases and formed the SIT comprising 10 personnel and took over the investigation in the cases, news agency ANI quoted an official as saying.

On Sunday, the minister urged the people of Manipur to lift the blockades so that essential items such as food and medicine can reach the violence-hit state. Taking to Twitter, Amit Shah wrote, “My sincerest appeal to the people of Manipur is to lift the blockades at the Imphal-Dimapur, NH-2 Highway, so that food, medicines, Petrol/Diesel, and other necessary items can reach the people. I also request that Civil Society Organisations do the needful in bringing consensus. Together only we can restore normalcy in this beautiful state.”

The Union Minister’s appeal comes amid security adviser to the state government Kuldeep Singh saying that there was no incident of violence in Manipur in the last 24 hours and the state was "completely peaceful".

“Situation in Manipur is completely peaceful. There has been no incident of violence since Friday evening,” Singh, a former DG of the CRPF, told news agency PTI.