BJP’s Manipur unit has told its national president JP Nadda that “people are angry” as the state government has so far failed to contain the ethnic strife, which started since May 3, reports PTI.
A letter signed by party’s state unit president Sharda Devi, vice-president Ch Chidananda Singh and six others told Nadda that “public anger and protest is now slowly turning the tide, putting the sole onus of this prolonged disturbance into the failure of the government in dealing with the situation.”
They also demanded the immediate re-settlement of the displaced people in their original places of residence and immediate restoration of free flow of traffic along the national highways.
The state unit also called for providing promised compensation to people whose houses were destroyed and ex-gratia to families of those killed in the ethnic strife.
Along with this, the state unit also urged for effective implementation of ground rules of Suspension of Operations and to treat any violation as an “act of terrorism”.
The state unit also urged Nadda to apprise the “Union home ministry for early completion of the drive to record the biometric data of illegal immigrants to facilitate the early implementation of the NRC” and “to completely destroy all poppy cultivation” and “establish a joint monitoring committee for constant vigilance.”
AFSPA imposed in Manipur, except for 19 police stations
The letter comes days after the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act or AFSPA was imposed in the whole of the state, except those under 19 police stations in the Meitei-dominated valley districts.
The “disturbed area” status under AFSPA will continue in the state, except for 19 police station limits, the state government announced on Wednesday, stating it opted for “status quo” in the light of the prevailing law and order situation.
The “disturbed areas” notification issued on Wednesday will come into effect from October 1 in the violence-hit state. It is applicable for six months, following which it can be periodically extended by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) after assessing the situation in Manipur.
Manipur has had the “disturbed area” status under the Afspa since 1980, and it was only withdrawn from some parts of Imphal in 2004 following strong protests after the killing of 32-year-old Thangjam Manorama earlier that year.
Since 2022, the areas notified as “disturbed” have been incrementally reduced and from April 1, 2023, it was withdrawn from the area of 19 police stations, all located in the state’s Meitei-dominated valley, reports The Indian Express.
Soon after that the ongoing ethnic clashes, which have so far killed over 150 people, broke out in the north-eastern state since May 3.