Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday, while speaking on Manipur violence in Lok Sabha, appealed with ‘folded hands’ for an end to the three-month-long cycle of violence in the state and urged Kuki and Meitei communities to hold talks saying violence cannot be a solution to any problem.
“Come and hold talks. I urge both communities to sit with the Centre and talk to resolve the issue. We do not wish to change the demography. Violence is not a solution to any problem. I assure you that we will bring peace to the state. Politics should not be done on this issue,” Amit Shah said.
During the debate on the no-confidence motion after Rahul Gandhi, other opposition leaders slammed the government’s handling of the Manipur situation, Shah urged them not to politicise the issue of ethnic violence in the state. Shah also said that the unrest in Myanmar in 2021 caused the ethnic conflict in the north-eastern state and political instability in the neighbouring country had prompted thousands of refugees to flee into Manipur across a porous border.
The February ruling by the High Court added “fuel to the fire”, he said. “In 2021, the government changed in Myanmar and the military took over the governance there. The democratic government was toppled. Democratic Kuki Fund started demonstrating against the military there. Against the backdrop of their demonstration, the military started suppressing the community. Since there is no fencing there and we share an open border with Myanmar, people from the Kuki community came in large numbers in Mizoram and Manipur,” Shah said adding that the influx from the neighbouring country created “a feeling of insecurity” among the Meiteis.
He further said that the ruling of the Manipur High Court included people belonging to the Meitei community in the list of Scheduled Tribes (STs).