Situation in Manipur 'by and large peaceful', claims Amit Shah

His statement came when the Lok Sabha was discussing President Rule in Manipur

New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday early morning said no violence has been reported from Manipur since December last year and the government is in the process of convening a meeting of Meitei and Kuki communities, as Lok Sabha gave its stamp on the proclamation of President's Rule in the north-eastern state.

Shah's assertion came even as Opposition MPs attacked the Modi government over the situation in ethnic violence-hit Manipur even as they supported the motion on the proclamation of President's Rule, which was imposed on February 13 following the resignation of Chief Minister N Biren Singh.

In an unusual move, the Lok Sabha had taken up the motion at 2 am in which eight Opposition MPs spoke for about 30 minutes followed by around 10-minute reply by Shah. None of the NDA members spoke on the motion though the Opposition objected to taking up the matter at late hours.

"By and large the situation is peaceful. As long as people are in camps, I would not say the situation is satisfactory. The government is taking all possible steps to restore peace in Manipur," he said.

Shah said the President's Rule was imposed as parties informed the Governor that they were not in a position to form the government and not because of any no-trust motion. He said there was no no-confidence motion and Congress with its limited number did not move any such motion.

Emphasising that the varied interpretation of a Manipur High Court order on reservation had triggered ethnic violence, he said, "I want to make it clear that it was not a case of riot or terrorism."

Insisting that the issue should not be politicised, he said there has been no violence in the past four months since December.

Rebutting Opposition attacks on the ruling BJP over its handling of Manipur, Shah hit back saying the state was shut for 212 days before BJP came to power in the north-eastern state in March 2017. More than 1,000 encounters took place leading to the Supreme Court’s intervention, he said.

Initiating the debate, senior Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said the Congress supported the motion but wanted an early restoration of peace in Manipur. He warned against using the President’s rule as just a law and order issue.

While Trinamool Congress' Sayoni Ghosh questioned the timing of President's Rule, DMK's Kanimozhi attacked the government over holding the debate so late in the night. Kanimozhi demanded that "divisive" politics should come to an end in Manipur.

NCP (SP)'s Supriya Sule said President's Rule was not good for democracy while Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Arvin Sawant demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi visit Manipur.

Samajwadi Party's Lalji Verma said people should be given a chance to elect a government soon.