'All efforts underway to restore peace in Manipur,' Shah tells all-party meet; Oppn demands all-party delegation be sent to state

The opposition parties have been critical of the Centre's handling of the Manipur situation and have questioned the prime minister's 'silence' on the issue.

The Opposition asked the union government to send an all-party delegation to the violence-hit Manipur but Home Minister Amit Shah remained non-committal at an all-party meeting here on Saturday, though he said all efforts are being made to restore peace in the state on instructions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

From demands for the removal of Chief Minister N Biren Singh to the imposition of President's Rule in the state, which has been witnessing violence since May 3, the Opposition parties expressed concern over the situation in Manipur and sought clarity on how the government plans to move forward to bring peace to the state. They wanted "definite timelines" for the action plan.

Sources said Shah told the leaders that the government was doing everything possible to restore normalcy and that there had “not been a single day” when he did not consult Modi or he did not give any directions.

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After the meeting, BJP Manipur in-charge Sambit Patra told reporters that Shah told them that all efforts are being made to maintain law and order on the instructions of the Prime Minister.

Demands for the removal of Chief Minister N Biren Singh, who the Opposition said “failed miserably” in tackling the situation made its echo in the meeting, which was called after over 50 days of violence.

The Congress argued that the Chief Minister should be “replaced immediately” as peace will not return to Manipur if he remains at the helm, senior leader and former Chief Minister Ibobi Singh said.

Singh, who was the lone leader from Manipur present at the meeting, said it was “unfortunate” that he was not allowed more time to put across his points towards the end of the deliberations. “We hope that Modi will hold a similar meeting after his return from his foreign trip,” he said.

Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha leader Derek O'Brien said an all-party delegation should be sent to Manipur within a week, a demand which got the support of other Opposition parties. “When Manipur burns, Assam is affected, Meghalaya is affected, the entire north-east is affected. The whole nation is affected. Is the Union Government trying to turn Manipur into Kashmir?” he asked.

Also Read | CPI targets government over not being invited to all-party meet in Manipur

After the meeting, O'Brien told reporters, “Within 24 hours of the Opposition meeting in Patna, we spoke in one voice for Manipur, the north-east and India.”

Samajwadi Party leader Ramgopal Yadav demanded imposition of President's Rule as the "state government has failed" to maintain peace and the "administration has collapsed". A couple of other leaders too raised the same demand.

RJD's Manoj K Jha said the Opposition spoke with an open mind and echoed Ibobi Singh when he said the Opposition leaders told the meeting that there was distrust in the political leadership and there is “no faith in the person who is running the administration and one cannot restore peace with that person in charge”. O'Brien said there was a "complete collapse of the constitutional machinery" in Manipur.

Siva said DMK and other Opposition parties expressed their concerns and the Home Minister listened to them and promised he would look into every issue and restore peace. “It is not a law and order breakdown to be controlled by police and army or Assam rifles. It is a failure of the governance in the state and the union government,” he said.

Those who attended the meeting included BJP president J P Nadda, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Singh (NPP), M Thambi Durai (AIADMK), Pinaki Misra (BJD), Sanjay Singh (AAP), and Priyanka Chaturvedi (Shiv Sena) among others. Union ministers Pralhad Joshi, Nityanand Rai and Ajay Kumar Mishra, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, and Director of Intelligence Bureau Tapan Deka also attended the meeting.