On Thursday, Congress leader KC Venugopal criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for keeping quiet about the violence in Manipur.
“For the last 53 days, Manipur is burning, and people are fighting with each other. PM has not uttered a single word yet. A delegation from Manipur was here for the last 10 days but PM was not ready to meet them,” Venugopal said. “We’re expecting a meeting convened by Prime Minister,” he added.
In order to discuss the situation in Manipur, Union Home Minister Amit Shah will call an all-party meeting on June 24 in the nation’s capital, the Home Ministry Spokesperson announced on Wednesday. The meeting to address the situation in Manipur is slated to begin at 3 p.m. in New Delhi. Hours prior to the statement, Sonia Gandhi, the chairwoman of the Congress Parliamentary Party, made a plea for calm and harmony in the state, saying that the state’s unheard-of violence had “left a deep wound in the conscience of our nation” and had shattered people’s lives.
As Manipur is still witnessing incidents like arson, the state government has extended the ban on the internet by five more days till June 25 with immediate effect in an effort to prevent further disturbance to peace. The data services have also been banned in view of the persisting unrest in the state. Violence gripped Manipur on May 3 after clashes erupted during a rally organised by the All Tribals Students Union (ATSU) to protest the demand for the inclusion of Meiteis in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) list.