'Need Concrete Action': Amit Shah Chairs All-Party Meeting on Manipur Violence

Amit Shah had earlier visited Manipur on 29 May to review the situation and meet several stakeholders.

Amit Shah. 

(Photo: Twitter/Amit Shah)

Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired an all-party meeting in New Delhi on Saturday, 24 June, on the ongoing crisis in Manipur. The meeting began at around 3 pm.

Leaders of different political parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress, Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena, Trinamool Congress, Mizo National Front, BJD, AIADMK, DMK, RJD, Samajwadi Party, and AAP, attended the meeting.

Shah had previously visited the violence-hit state on 29 May to meet several stakeholders, including members of the Kuki and Meitei communities. The state has been witnessing ethnic clashes since 3 May, in which at least 90 people have been killed.

'PM Is Briefed Every Day'

Speaking to the media after the meeting, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said that the views of all the parties were heard and that everyone agreed that "Amit Shah's Manipur visit was unprecedented."

"Amit Shah said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is briefed every day on the evolving situation in the state," he added.

"We have considered all suggestions from various political parties and appropriate steps will be taken in the right direction."

Sambit Patra

Patra added that "a 10 km fence has been erected along the Myanmar border to curb infiltration ... Many of the infiltrators were youth who voluntarily surrendered their weapons to the local police."

'All-Party Delegation Should Visit State'

At the meeting, Uddhav Shiva Sena's Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said that the centre hasn't done anything "constructive" so far and demanded that an all-party delegation visit the state next week.

"We raised issues like the education of students being hampered, and other sensitive issues ... There is a sense of distrust, fear, and bias… Many people from Manipur have informed me that they lack trust in the Chief Minister of Manipur. Concrete actions need to be taken."

Addressing the media after the meeting, DMK MP Tiruchi Siva said that the party has expressed its concerns about the Manipur crisis and the home minister assured that "he is actively addressing the issue."

However, the TMC, in a statement, said the state visit by Shah did not yield any results.

"He only went to the camps, and met select people. He heard only the echochamber. He did not meet the people on the streets who have been affected, who are living through the trauma. The three-day visit by the Home Minister did not improve the situation at all. In fact, it deteriorated after that," the statement read.

Meanwhile, the Congress has been attacking the BJP-led state and central governments over the situation, and has alleged that the saffron party has not been able to maintain peace in the state.

"Manipur has been burning for 50 days, but the Prime Minister remained silent. An all-party meeting was called when the Prime Minister himself is not in the country! Clearly, this meeting is not important for the Prime Minister," Rahul Gandhi had tweeted.

Earlier this week, Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi had also said that the ongoing violence in Manipur had left a "deep wound" on the conscience of the nation.

In a video message released on the official Twitter handle of the Congress, the party's former president said:

"The unprecedented violence that has devastated the lives of people in your state (Manipur) and uprooted thousands has left a deep wound in the conscience of our nation...Our choice to embark on the path of healing will shape the kind of future that our children will inherit."