Manipur CM N Biren Singh To Leave For Delhi Today, Likely To Meet PM, First Meeting After Over Yearlong Violence In State

The violence in Manipur has claimed lives of over 200 people and left nearly 60,000 people displaced.

Copy edited by Lipika Roy

Amid peace remaining elusive for over a year in Manipur, Chief Minister N Biren Singh is leaving for New Delhi this afternoon and is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.

Chief Minister N Biren Singh will be in New Delhi for the NITI Aayog meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, where officials from every state will be present and discuss key issues facing the states, including cooperative development strategies.

After the NITI Aayog meeting, a Chief Ministers conclave will also be held in the presence of PM Modi. During the conclave, CM N Biren Singh hopes to address the ongoing crisis of the state and seek an immediate solution.

The Chief Minister is hopeful of a positive outcome.

Speaking to media, CM Biren Singh said, ” After the NITI Ayog meeting, we will have a Chief Ministers conclave along with PM Modi and will interact on different issues. I would take advantage and try to address the prevailing situation of the state and request an immediate solution to the present crisis. I am optimistic of a positive result.”

Chief Minister N Biren Singh also criticised the Congress party’s claims that Manipur was not mentioned in the Union Budget 2024, terming it as “pity politics” and said that the central government has provided generous funds to Manipur.

“What Congress is doing is pity politics. We should not engage in pity politics. There is no question of mentioning Manipur specifically in the budget. During the budget session, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has summarised the financial allocations for all states. I have also shown the funds we have received for various issues such as cyclone and flood relief, as well as for the victims of the present crisis. We are getting enough funds from the centre,” said CM N Biren Singh.

This will be CM Singh’s first meeting with PM Modi since violence broke out in the state.

The violence in Manipur has its roots in the state government’s actions to remove encroachers from reserved forest areas in Churachandpur and Kangpokpi, over 10-year-old demand by the Meitei community for a Scheduled Tribe (ST) status, and the ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised on May 3, 2023 opposing High Court order for inclusion of Meitei community in the ST category.

Tension had been building in Churachandpur and Kangpokpi since late February 2023, when the Manipur government demolished a few Kuki houses in Churachandpur for encroaching on reserved forest land.

Violent clashes broke out between protestors and police in Kangpokpi in March when they tried to hold a rally against ‘encroachment of tribal land in the name of reserved forests, protected forests and wildlife sanctuary”.

Public unrest against CM Biren Singh eventually led to violent protests in April.

On April 30, a mob partially burnt down a newly set-up open gym at PT Sports complex at New Lamka, burnt the chairs and demolished a venue where CM Biren Singh was supposed to address a public rally.

Violence escalated in the state after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ organised on May 3, 2023 in Churachandpur by the All Tribal Students Union Manipur (ATSUM) opposing the High Court order directing the state government to recommend to the Union Tribal Affairs Ministry for inclusion of Meitei community in the ST category.

The violence in Manipur has claimed the lives of over 200 people and left nearly 60,000 people displaced.

COMMENTS