Manipur Violence: PM Must Break Silence, Get Warring Groups To Talk, Says NCP

The Nationalist Congress Party on Saturday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi must break his silence and initiate talks between warring groups in Manipur to bring peace to the violence-hit state.
    
 NCP national spokesperson Clyde Crasto said more than 100 people have been killed and 300 injured in clashes between the Meitei and Kuki communities since May 3 but the Bharatiya Janata Party-led governments at the Centre and in the restive northeastern state have failed to restore peace and normalcy.
     
"Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh says the situation is under control but the ground reality is far different. Even the BJP's own Union minister Rajkumar Ranjan Singh had to bear the brunt of the violence as his house was burnt down in Imphal," Crasto said.
     
"Since everyone else has failed to fulfill their duty and stop the violence it is about time PM Narendra Modi steps in and personally initiates talks between the warring groups to bring peace to Manipur," Crasto said.
    
 In a statement, Crasto said Union ministers are vocal about issues in non-BJP-ruled states but are maintaining an eerie silence on the violence in Manipur since they know it is a failure of their home department.
     
These ministers know speaking about the failure of the home department will only expose the matter further, the NCP leader added.
     
More than 100 people have lost their lives in the ethnic violence between Meitei and Kuki community people in Manipur that broke out a month ago.
     
The state government has imposed a curfew in 11 districts and banned internet services in a bid to stop the spread of rumours in the state.
     
Clashes 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.