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Union Home Minister Amit Shah has convened an all-party meeting on June 24 in New Delhi to discuss the situation in Manipur which has witnessed sporadic violence since May 3.
The announcement came after Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma met the home minister . Sarma is also the convenor of the NDA’s Northeast chapter NEDA (North-East Democratic Alliance).
He had also visited Imphal a fortnight ago and met Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh and a number of political leaders.
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.
So far, nearly 120 people have lost their lives and over 3,000 are injured.
Amit Shah had also visited the state for four days last last month and met a cross sections of people in his efforts to bring back peace in the northeastern state.
Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi in tweeted in Hindi , saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi was silent when Manipur burnt for 50 days. All- party meet is called when he is not here . Clear the meeting is not important for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
50 दिनों से जल रहा है मणिपुर, मगर प्रधानमंत्री मौन रहे।
सर्वदलीय बैठक तब बुलाई जब प्रधानमंत्री खुद देश में नहीं हैं!
साफ है, प्रधानमंत्री के लिए ये बैठक महत्वपूर्ण नहीं है।
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 22, 2023
Reacting to the all- party call meeting, Congress said it is too little too late . Senior Congress leader and General Secretary K C Venugopal said the government woke up only after former party chief Sonia Gandhi’s address to the people of the strife-torn state.
He also questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s absence from the meeting called on June 24, when he will be on a state visit to Egypt.
“At the outset, the PM’s absence from such a serious meeting shows his ‘cowardice’ and ‘unwillingness’ to confront his failures. Even when multiple delegations sought meetings with him, he had no time for them,” the Congress leader alleged.
Noting that the home minister himself has presided over this situation and made no progress, he said in fact things have “worsened” since his visit.
“Can we expect genuine peace under his stewardship,” he asked.
Well after 50 days of death and destruction in Manipur, HM @AmitShah’s call for an all party meeting is too little too late. The government only woke up after Smt. Sonia Gandhi ji’s address to the people of Manipur.
At the outset, the PM’s absence from such a serious meeting… https://t.co/xIpFMrpqtS
— K C Venugopal (@kcvenugopalmp) June 22, 2023
Venugopal tweeted, “Any effort for peace must take place in Manipur, where the warring communities are brought on the discussion table and a political solution is arrived at. This effort will lack seriousness if it is done sitting in Delhi.”
