Expressing concern over the situation in the northeast state of Manipur, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee termed it a “man-made problem”, reported news agency PTI.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo hit out at the ruling BJP government saying that there is no information from the state where “shoot at sight” orders are in place.
“I am quite tense with the situation in Manipur. We are not getting a clear picture of the number of deaths in shoot-at-sight (order) as the state government is not giving any information,” she told reporters at the state secretariat Nabanna in Howrah district.
“Manipur is burning. We don’t know how many people have died in shootouts. The figure is not provided by the govt. I won’t bring politics here, but people want to know how many died. If anything happens here(West Bengal), they send central teams and defend their decision by giving lots of explanations,” the CM added, as quoted by news agency ANI.
Violence broke out in Manipur on Wednesday afternoon during a “Tribal Solidarity March” in Churachandpur and nine other districts protesting against the demand for Scheduled Tribes (ST) status for the politically influential Meitei community, who largely are based in the Valley region. Official figures put the death toll at 54.
The ethnic violence opened the decades-old fault line between the Meitei community and the tribes – Nagas and Kukis – who account for 40 per cent population in the state and largely reside in the hill districts.
Meanwhile, life was slowly limping back to somewhat normalcy on Monday in the violence-hit state after curfew was relaxed for a few hours in the morning, with people coming out to buy essential items.
Over 100 columns of the Army have been deployed in the state after the violence broke out on Wednesday, and along with Assam Rifles, paramilitary and state police, around 10,000 security personnel are on the ground to maintain the law and order situation, officials said. The employment of aviation assets was being intensified, a defence spokesperson said, adding that Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and helicopters have been pressed into action for surveillance not only in the hinterland but also along the India-Myanmar Border.
Further, speaking about the upcoming Karnataka elections, campaigning for which ends today, the CM said, “My only appeal to brothers and sisters in Karnataka is that please vote for stability and development. I appeal that please don’t vote for BJP. They are dangerous.”