A senior Bishop of the influential Syro-Malabar Catholic Church on Thursday launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling the ethnic violence in Manipur an attempt towards “genocide” and comparing it with the 2002 riots in Gujarat.
Thalassery Archbishop Mar Joseph Pamplany said instead of telling US media that there is “no discrimination” in India, he should first convince the Christians in Manipur about it.
"During his US visit, Modi said that there was no discrimination in India. We all want that to be true. However, if that statement of his is honest, he should make the Christians in Manipur believe that. He should say to their faces that there is no discrimination. If he can make them believe that, then only would his statement be seen as honest and sincere by the people of India," the Bishop said while addressing the media in Kannur.
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"Otherwise, no one can be faulted for thinking that there is a silent approval of the government to those engaging in violence and killing in that state," he added.
Expressing concern about the northeastern state, Archbishop Pamplany accused the central government of failing to “quell the riots” in Manipur and said, “Manipur is turning into a genocide unheard of in the history of India. The situation in Manipur has turned out to be another version of the riots that happened in Gujarat years ago.” He called it a “planned insurgency” and said it was natural for the public to think that the government was “protecting” those behind it.
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Pamplany said the Prime Minister was free to decide what he should react to but it is expected of him, more than a reaction, to create a peaceful environment in the state.
Notably, Pamplany had in March created ripples in the political circles of Kerala when he said he address the BJP's dearth of an MP from the southern state if the Centre promised to increase the price of rubber procurement to Rs 300 per kilogram.
He also courted controversy in May by saying political martyrs are those who died after getting into "unnecessary fights".
The ethnic violence in Manipur has been going on for nearly two months and more than 100 people have lost their lives in clashes between Meitei and Kuki communities. Violence first broke out on May 3 after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribals -- Nagas and Kukis -- constitute another 40 per cent of the population and reside in the hill districts.
