PM Modi spoke on violence in Manipur in Rajya Sabha

PM Modi said on Manipur- 11 thousand FIRs, more than 500 arrested, every possible effort to stop violence

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday spoke about the situation in Manipur during his reply in Rajya Sabha on the motion of thanks on the President’s address. PM Modi said that violence in Manipur is continuously decreasing and schools have reopened in most areas of the state. He said that efforts are being made to establish complete peace. The central and state governments are talking to all parties to restore peace in Manipur.

PM Modi said, ‘The government is continuously working to normalise the situation in Manipur. More than 11,000 FIRs were registered, more than 500 people were arrested. The Prime Minister said that today schools, colleges, offices and other institutions are opening like normal days in most parts of Manipur. He said that just like examinations were held in other parts of the country, examinations were held in Manipur as well and children have continued their development journey.

Modi said, “The central and state governments are constantly trying to open a harmonious path for peace by talking to everyone. Creating a network by connecting small units is a huge task and it is happening peacefully.” He said, “In the year 1993, a similar sequence of events took place in Manipur and it was so intense and widespread. It continued for five years. Understanding all this history, we have to try to correct the situation very wisely. Whoever wants to cooperate in this, we also want to take the cooperation of everyone. We are making every effort to maintain normalcy and bring peace.”

He appealed to all political parties and said, “We all should rise above politics and cooperate in normalizing the situation there. This is the duty of all of us.” He said, “I warn those elements who are trying to add fuel to the fire in Manipur to stop such activities. A time will come when Manipur itself will reject them.” The Prime Minister said that those who know the history of Manipur know that there has been a long history of social conflict there and the mentality of that conflict has very deep roots. He said, “No one can deny this.” The Prime Minister also reminded that during the reign of the Congress, President’s rule had to be imposed in Manipur 10 times. He said, “President’s rule has had to be imposed 10 times in such a small state, there must be some problems. And this has not happened during our tenure, but still the kind of activities that are happening there to take political advantage.”

PM Modi said that this did not happen in the previous governments but after the violence spread in Manipur, the Union Home Minister himself stayed in the state for several days and the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs stayed there for weeks and kept going there again and again to try and connect the concerned people. He said, “There is political leadership but all the concerned senior officers of the government go there regularly, contact people and every kind of effort is being made to solve the problem.” The Prime Minister said that at present there is also a flood crisis in Manipur and the central government is cooperating fully with the state government. He said, “Today itself two teams of NDRF have reached there. The center and the state are also taking care of this together.”