Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Thursday denounced the "horrendous scenario" in Manipur and called it a "black chapter" in the country's history.
Soren, who is also the executive president of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), was reacting to the incident in the northeastern state in which two women were paraded naked and molested publicly.
The JMM has demanded the resignation of Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh in the wake of the incident.
"On the one hand, there are talks of making the country a world guru, while on the other a horrendous scenario is being witnessed in Manipur. There is anarchy in that state for the past 80 days ... An incident of indescribable torture of tribal women was witnessed there.
"I strongly condemn the incident ... It is a black chapter in the country's history," he told reporters.
The video of the ghastly incident of May 4 at Kangpokpi in Manipur, a day after the ethnic clashes broke out on May 3, surfaced on Wednesday. The alleged main accused was arrested on Thursday.
The incident has drawn widespread condemnation across the country.
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Hitting out at the Centre for maintaining silence on the situation in Manipur, he said it has been broken after the Lok Sabha session commenced on Thursday. "The entire nation is witness to it ... This is very unfortunate".
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's foreign visits, he said "While you are welcomed in various countries, there is a civil war-like condition in states back home ... States are fighting against each other... The country is crumbling".
JMM spokesperson Vinod Kumar Pandey said, "The Manipur Chief Minister (N Biren Singh) should resign immediately".
The party, he said, will hold demonstrations and burn effigies of central and Manipur governments in Jharkhand. "We will expose the mindset and character of BJP".
The Congress, an ally of the JMM in Jharkhand, demanded the president’s rule in the ethnic strife-torn northeastern state "without delay".
JPCC president Rajesh Thakur said in a social media post that the incident in Manipur is embarrassing for the whole country. "Hatred is at its peak,” he added.
The women’s wing of the state Congress too demanded the Manipur chief minister’s resignation and strict action against those responsible for the incident.
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"The horrific incident has brought shame to the entire nation. N Biren Singh should resign immediately,” the president of the Congress women's wing Gunjan Sinha said.
Members of the Congress women’s wing took out a protest march in Ranchi during the day.
BJP state president Babulal Marandi in a tweet said the whole country is seething with anger over the incident in Manipur.
"Those who committed the crime will not be spared wherever they may be ...They have brought shame to 140 crore people of the country," Marandi said.
More than 150 people have lost their lives and several others were injured since the ethnic violence broke out in the state on May 3 when a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts of Manipur to protest against the majority 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, while tribals, who include Nagas and Kukis, constitute 40 per cent and reside mostly in the hill districts.
