News Analysis India

Tag: Manipur

  • Ensure proper facilities in Manipur relief camps, says SC

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI:  Expressing concern over the loss of lives in the ethnic violence-wracked Manipur a few days ago, the Supreme Court on Monday asked both the Centre and the state government to make all suitable arrangements, including medical facilities in the relief camps for the victims.

    Emphasising that the duty of the state includes protecting their places of worship, a bench led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud said the court’s immediate target was “protection, rescue and stabilisation.” It asked the state to submit a status report by May 17.

    The violence was a fallout of a high court recommendation on March 27 to provide Scheduled Tribe status to the dominant Meitei community in Manipur. But the SC bench observed that the HC could not have made the recommendation as the President of India is the competent authority on that. “This power, the HC never had. This is the Presidential power. How could HC direct the state that it shall forward the recommendation of the government of India?” the CJI asked.

    The bench was considering a plea by Dinganglung Gangmei, BJP MLA and chairman of the Hills Area Committee challenging the HC order. Another plea filed by the Manipur Tribals Forum had demanded protection for tribals – Nagas and Kukis – besides the deployment of Central forces to protect all places of worship and the formation of a Special Investigation Team to probe the alleged atrocities against the tribals by Meitei community members.

    Appearing for the Centre and the state government, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said there had been no reports of violence in the last two days. Also, curfew has been relaxed in various parts. As many as 52 companies of CAPF and 105 columns of Assam Rifles have been deployed in Manipur.

    NEW DELHI:  Expressing concern over the loss of lives in the ethnic violence-wracked Manipur a few days ago, the Supreme Court on Monday asked both the Centre and the state government to make all suitable arrangements, including medical facilities in the relief camps for the victims.

    Emphasising that the duty of the state includes protecting their places of worship, a bench led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud said the court’s immediate target was “protection, rescue and stabilisation.” It asked the state to submit a status report by May 17.

    The violence was a fallout of a high court recommendation on March 27 to provide Scheduled Tribe status to the dominant Meitei community in Manipur. But the SC bench observed that the HC could not have made the recommendation as the President of India is the competent authority on that. “This power, the HC never had. This is the Presidential power. How could HC direct the state that it shall forward the recommendation of the government of India?” the CJI asked.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    The bench was considering a plea by Dinganglung Gangmei, BJP MLA and chairman of the Hills Area Committee challenging the HC order. Another plea filed by the Manipur Tribals Forum had demanded protection for tribals – Nagas and Kukis – besides the deployment of Central forces to protect all places of worship and the formation of a Special Investigation Team to probe the alleged atrocities against the tribals by Meitei community members.

    Appearing for the Centre and the state government, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said there had been no reports of violence in the last two days. Also, curfew has been relaxed in various parts. As many as 52 companies of CAPF and 105 columns of Assam Rifles have been deployed in Manipur.

  • 150 Uttar Pradesh students still stranded in strife-torn Manipur, keen to return home

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: With UP CM Yogi Adityanath issuing directives to the state home ministry to make arrangements for the safe return of students belonging to Uttar Pradesh from Manipur, a group of around 10 students have left the trouble-torn north-eastern state on their own taking the flight from Imphal to Kolkata on Monday.

    The batch of 10 pursuing engineering courses in National Institute of Technology (NIT), Manipur, have taken the train route back to their native places in UP. However, the state government had claimed that they would be bringing the first batch of 28 students back to the state. Nearly 150 UP students, pursuing different courses, are stranded in the strife-torn state.

    Jitendra Kumar, a budding civil engineer, pursuing BTech at NIT, Manipur and native of the eastern UP district of Ballia reached Imphal airport along with the others in a college bus.

    “The situation is grim in Manipur. Shortage of food and safety are major concerns,” he said sharing his experiences with the media. Similarly, Abhishek Kumar, a resident of Greater Noida, said, “We have had sleepless nights. Parents are concerned for our safety. We are not going to come here for the next one month.”

    ALSO READ | Manipur peaceful, prices of essential items skyrocket amid panic buying

    UP’s principal secretary (home) Sanjay Prasad spoke to the chief secretary of Manipur and requested for help. The office of the relief commissioner was entrusted with the responsibility of coordinating with the Manipur government and ensuring a safe passage for students wanting to return to the state, a statement by the chief ministers’ office said.

    Meanwhile, other students belonging to UP and stranded in Manipur said that if they did not get any official assistance, they would move out by catching flights etc.

    According to Aveg Sharma of Kanpur, it was difficult to stay put in Manipur any longer. “The authorities have advised us to keep the lights switched off to avoid detection by troublemakers,” said Aaveg Sharma, 18, a B Tech NIT first year student from Kanpur.

    As pe the students returning to the state, the trouble began on Wednesday evening when Meities and Kukis clashed. NIT is near Langol in Manipur, which is also a centre of conflict.

    Meanwhile, the UP government that has set up a helpline number 1070 to assist the students and enable them to contact the state administration has received 128 queries.

    LUCKNOW: With UP CM Yogi Adityanath issuing directives to the state home ministry to make arrangements for the safe return of students belonging to Uttar Pradesh from Manipur, a group of around 10 students have left the trouble-torn north-eastern state on their own taking the flight from Imphal to Kolkata on Monday.

    The batch of 10 pursuing engineering courses in National Institute of Technology (NIT), Manipur, have taken the train route back to their native places in UP. However, the state government had claimed that they would be bringing the first batch of 28 students back to the state. Nearly 150 UP students, pursuing different courses, are stranded in the strife-torn state.

    Jitendra Kumar, a budding civil engineer, pursuing BTech at NIT, Manipur and native of the eastern UP district of Ballia reached Imphal airport along with the others in a college bus.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2′); });

    “The situation is grim in Manipur. Shortage of food and safety are major concerns,” he said sharing his experiences with the media. Similarly, Abhishek Kumar, a resident of Greater Noida, said, “We have had sleepless nights. Parents are concerned for our safety. We are not going to come here for the next one month.”

    ALSO READ | Manipur peaceful, prices of essential items skyrocket amid panic buying

    UP’s principal secretary (home) Sanjay Prasad spoke to the chief secretary of Manipur and requested for help. The office of the relief commissioner was entrusted with the responsibility of coordinating with the Manipur government and ensuring a safe passage for students wanting to return to the state, a statement by the chief ministers’ office said.

    Meanwhile, other students belonging to UP and stranded in Manipur said that if they did not get any official assistance, they would move out by catching flights etc.

    According to Aveg Sharma of Kanpur, it was difficult to stay put in Manipur any longer. “The authorities have advised us to keep the lights switched off to avoid detection by troublemakers,” said Aaveg Sharma, 18, a B Tech NIT first year student from Kanpur.

    As pe the students returning to the state, the trouble began on Wednesday evening when Meities and Kukis clashed. NIT is near Langol in Manipur, which is also a centre of conflict.

    Meanwhile, the UP government that has set up a helpline number 1070 to assist the students and enable them to contact the state administration has received 128 queries.

  • Manipur suspends mobile internet for five days amid protests by tribal students

    By Express News Service

    GUWAHATI: Apprehending law and order problems, the Manipur government suspended mobile internet services for five days across the state from Sunday morning.

    The state’s Home department said some anti-social elements were fanning communal passions and hate speeches using social media.

    The authorities clamped prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC in Bishnupur and Churachandpur districts for two months. The miscreants torched two vehicles in two separate incidents on Saturday.

    Tension has been brewing in the state since Friday morning when the All Tribal Students’ Union Manipur (ATSUM) imposed an indefinite “economic blockade” along the national highways in the hill districts after rejecting the Manipur (hill areas) district council 6th and 7th amendment bills introduced by the government in the Assembly on Tuesday.

    The ATSUM for a long time has been demanding the tabling of Manipur (Hill Areas) Autonomous District Council (Amendment) Bill 2021 in the House to ensure the hill areas get greater financial and administrative autonomy and that they develop on a par with the valley areas.

    The ATSUM said the amendment bills introduced by the government cannot fulfil tribal aspirations.

    The blockade choked supplies to the non-tribal majority in Imphal valley which is surrounded by the hills where the tribals live. An organisation had on Friday locked the Imphal office of the ATSUM after viewing the blockade as targeted at valley areas.

    The police had arrested five leaders of the students’ organisation on Thursday and charged them with conspiring to impose the blockade. They are now in judicial custody.

    The ATSUM said the blockade would continue till the demands were met. It condemned the state government for its “step-motherly” attitude to the tribals. “We will keep intensifying our agitation till the state government fulfils our demands,” ATSUM vice president Vanlallian Khaute said.

    There has always been a divide between the hills and the valley in Manipur. From 2002-17, Manipur witnessed a series of economic blockades when it was ruled by Congress. One of them, enforced by the United Naga Council in 2011, continued for 100 days.

    Ahead of the 2017 Manipur elections, the BJP went to the voters promising to rid the state of blockades. The blockades virtually vanished after the party captured power.

    During his first term, Chief Minister N Biren Singh had launched a programme “Go To Hills” to bridge the gap between the hills and the valley areas. He continued it after the BJP retained power.

    GUWAHATI: Apprehending law and order problems, the Manipur government suspended mobile internet services for five days across the state from Sunday morning.

    The state’s Home department said some anti-social elements were fanning communal passions and hate speeches using social media.

    The authorities clamped prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC in Bishnupur and Churachandpur districts for two months. The miscreants torched two vehicles in two separate incidents on Saturday.

    Tension has been brewing in the state since Friday morning when the All Tribal Students’ Union Manipur (ATSUM) imposed an indefinite “economic blockade” along the national highways in the hill districts after rejecting the Manipur (hill areas) district council 6th and 7th amendment bills introduced by the government in the Assembly on Tuesday.

    The ATSUM for a long time has been demanding the tabling of Manipur (Hill Areas) Autonomous District Council (Amendment) Bill 2021 in the House to ensure the hill areas get greater financial and administrative autonomy and that they develop on a par with the valley areas.

    The ATSUM said the amendment bills introduced by the government cannot fulfil tribal aspirations.

    The blockade choked supplies to the non-tribal majority in Imphal valley which is surrounded by the hills where the tribals live. An organisation had on Friday locked the Imphal office of the ATSUM after viewing the blockade as targeted at valley areas.

    The police had arrested five leaders of the students’ organisation on Thursday and charged them with conspiring to impose the blockade. They are now in judicial custody.

    The ATSUM said the blockade would continue till the demands were met. It condemned the state government for its “step-motherly” attitude to the tribals. “We will keep intensifying our agitation till the state government fulfils our demands,” ATSUM vice president Vanlallian Khaute said.

    There has always been a divide between the hills and the valley in Manipur. From 2002-17, Manipur witnessed a series of economic blockades when it was ruled by Congress. One of them, enforced by the United Naga Council in 2011, continued for 100 days.

    Ahead of the 2017 Manipur elections, the BJP went to the voters promising to rid the state of blockades. The blockades virtually vanished after the party captured power.

    During his first term, Chief Minister N Biren Singh had launched a programme “Go To Hills” to bridge the gap between the hills and the valley areas. He continued it after the BJP retained power.

  • Manipur landslide: NDRF says 17 bodies recovered, rescue ops on

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Seventeen bodies have been retrieved from the landslide site in Manipur’s Noney district, the NDRF said on Friday, as they continue the efforts are on to rescue those who are still stuck beneath the debris.

    The spokesperson said a total of three National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams and those from the Army, state police and local administration are working at the Tupul yard railway construction camp of the Territorial Army which was hit by a massive landslide on Wednesday night.

    “In the joint operation, 17 dead bodies have been retrieved from the site till now. Before the arrival of NDRF teams, 18 injured persons were rescued and shifted to hospital on June 30.”

    “More people are suspected to be still stuck beneath the debris. Search operation is continuing,” the spokesperson said in an update issued at 3:30 pm.

    Earlier, Eastern Command General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Lt Gen R P Kalita met the injured Territorial Army personnel who were initially admitted to Liemakong Military Hospital on Thursday.

  • One dies, 4 hurt in IED blast in Manipur as migrant workers from Bengal targeted

    By Express News Service

    GUWAHATI: A construction worker was killed and four others – all of them from West Bengal – were injured in an IED blast at a community hall in Manipur’s Thoubal district in the wee hours of Monday.

    The victims were rushed to the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences hospital in Imphal. Later, one of them, Pankaj Mahato (21), succumbed to his injuries.

    The four others were stated to be out of danger. They were identified as Aroop Mandal (30), Souvik Patra (18), Aporva Mandal (25) and Rajesh Ramaanik (19).

    The police suspected the IED was detonated with a remote control device. The victims were asleep when the attack was carried out. They were hired by a private firm to construct a water tank.

    Chief Minister N Biren Singh condemned the blast. He said targeting the innocent, who were working for Manipur’s development and their livelihood was an act of cowardice.

    The motive behind the attack was still not known. The police said they were probing the incident.

  • Biren Singh sworn in as Manipur CM, five others take oath as cabinet ministers

    By PTI

    IMPHAL: BJP legislature party leader N Biren Singh was Monday sworn in as the chief minister of Manipur for the second time at the Raj Bhavan here.

    Singh, along with five cabinet ministers, were administered oath by Governor La Ganesan.

    Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Kiren Rijiju had on Sunday handed over a letter to Ganesan, stating that Singh was elected unanimously as the leader of the BJP legislature party with 32 MLAs.

    The governor then invited Singh to form the next government in Manipur.

  • N Biren Singh to continue as Chief Minister of Manipur

    By Express News Service

    GUWAHATI: N Biren Singh will continue as the chief minister of Manipur. With this, the week-long suspense on who will occupy the hot seat ended. Singh’s name as the CM was announced by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman after a closed-door meeting with all BJP MLAs of the state.Sitharaman and Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju were sent to the state as the BJP’s central observer and co-observer respectively.Sitahraman told journalists that it was a unanimous decision. She hoped the decision would go a long way in Manipur’s stability and good governance. She was also optimistic that there would be a very good government.Singh and senior leader Thongam Biswajit were the frontrunners for the post. The duo arrived in the state earlier in the day from Delhi along with the two observers and others.Their names were doing the rounds for the past one week. They visited Delhi twice on being summoned by the party’s central leadership and held discussions with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president JP Nadda and party stalwart BL Santhosh.The BJP had a stunning performance under Singh, winning 32 of the 60 seats in the Assembly elections, the results of which were declared on March 10.

  • Biren Singh, BJP MLA rush to Delhi again; Manipur CM name likely to be known soon

    By PTI

    IMPHAL: Manipur caretaker Chief Minister N Biren Singh and senior BJP MLA Th Biswajit Singh, who were seen as contenders for the CM’s post after the saffron party returned to power for the second time in a row, on Saturday left for Delhi in separate flights to meet the central leaders, sources said.

    The two leaders left for the national capital after being summoned by the party top brass and who will be the chief minister this time is likely to be known by Sunday, BJP sources said.

    After the election results were announced, Biren Singh, Th Biswajit and BJP state president A Sharda Devi had gone to Delhi on March 15 amid reports of “groupism” within the party and returned to Imphal on March 17.

    Social media was abuzz with speculations about which one of the two will become the next chief minister. The decision will be made by the BJP Parliamentary Board.

    The BJP returned to power in the insurgency-affected Manipur, picking up 32 seats in a house of 60.

    It had managed to form a government in 2017 despite having just 21 seats compared to Congress’s 28 by joining hands with two local parties – NPP and NPF.

    However, this time around, the BJP contested alone and managed to win a majority on the plank that a vote for the party would bring peace to the troubled state, both in the valley and the hills where tribals hold the ground.

  • Modi-Biren meeting sets off speculation about latter continuing as Manipur CM

    By Express News Service

    GUWAHATI/NEW DELHI: Even as the suspense over who will be Manipur’s next Chief Minister continues, caretaker CM N Biren Singh’s meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday triggered speculation about him continuing in the post.

    “Met Shri @NBirenSingh Ji and congratulated him on @BJP4Manipur’s stupendous victory in the recently concluded Assembly Polls. Our Party is committed to working even harder to fulfil the aspirations of the people of Manipur,” Modi tweeted.

    The meeting comes a day after Singh, senior Manipur minister Thongam Biswajit, who is a contender for the post, and the party’s state chief A Sharda Devi arrived in Delhi after being summoned by the central leadership ahead of the selection of the next CM candidate.

    BJP sources close to the party’s decision-making body indicated that the “status quo” would continue, underscoring the success the BJP achieved under the “earlier arrangement”.

    ALSO READ: INTERVIEW | Creating jobs our priority: Manipur CM Biren Singh

    “Only three persons – Modiji, (Union Home Minister) Amit Shahji and Naddaji (BJP chief JP Nadda) – will decide who will become the next CM,” a BJP central leader told The New Indian Express.

    BJP sources said the name of the CM candidate would be decided and officially announced after the meeting of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju with the party’s Manipur MLAs.

    The duo was scheduled to arrive in Imphal on Wednesday. The visit has been delayed.

    Nadda and BJP general secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh held a meeting with Singh, Biswajit and Sharda Devi on Tuesday. The three Manipur leaders are still in the national capital, waiting for further instructions. Santhosh is likely to meet them individually on Wednesday evening or Thursday, BJP sources said.

    The BJP had secured majority by winning 32 of the state’s 60 seats and is in a position to form the government on its own. However, Singh had earlier stated the BJP would align with like-minded parties.

  • Govt formation: BJP appoints Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh as observers for UP, U’khand

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The BJP on Monday appointed its top leaders, including Union ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, as central observers for government formation in the four states where it returned to power.

    In the latest round of assembly elections, the BJP won Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Manipur, and on its own it touched the halfway mark in Goa. Punjab was won by the AAP.

    The BJP parliamentary board, its apex decision making body, appointed Shah as the central observer for Uttar Pradesh and party vice president Raghubar Das as co-observer.

    Singh along with co-observer Union Minister Meenakshi Lekhi has been assigned to oversee the selection of the leader of the legislature party in Uttarakhand.

    Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Narendra Singh Tomar have been appointed as observers for selection of the leader of the legislature party in Manipur and Goa, the BJP said in a statement issued by its general secretary Arun Singh.

    Union Minister Kiren Rijiju is the co-observer for Manipur and his cabinet colleague L Murgan is the co-observer for Goa.

    While it is all set that Yogi Adityanath will again be elected as the legislative leader in Uttar Pradesh, the party has to take call on deputy chief ministers in the state, as one of the two in the previous government, Keshav Prasad Maurya, lost the elections along with 11 ministers.

    In Uttarakhand it is not clear who will lead the government in the state as chief minister Pushkar Dhami lost the election.

    In the backdrop of these circumstances and maintaining caste arithmetic in its favour, the BJP has appointed its heavyweights, former party presidents Shah and Singh, for ensuring smooth formation of government in both Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

    The senior leaders as observers will look to select a team in these four states which can effectively steer the ship till next general elections.