Amit Shah Chairs All-Party Meeting To Discuss Manipur Situation

Nearly 50 days after ethnic violence erupted in Manipur, Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired an all-party meeting on Saturday.

The union minister had visited Manipur for four days last last month and held several rounds of meetings with representatives of both the Meitei and Kuki communities in a bid to end the cycle of violence that has left 115 dead, and displaced at least 40,000.

The Congress had on Thursday rejected the all-party meeting to discuss Manipur, arguing that the Prime Minister's absence made the exercise meaningless.

"At the outset, the PM's absence from such a serious meeting shows his 'cowardice' and 'unwillingness' to confront his failures. Even when multiple delegations sought meetings with him, he had no time for them," the Congress leader alleged.

Noting that the Home Minister himself has presided over this situation and made no progress, he said in fact things have worsened since his visit. "Can we expect genuine peace under his stewardship," he asked.

"Moreover, the continuation of the partisan state government and non-implementation of President's Rule is a travesty," Venugopal charged.

"Manipur is burning for 50 days but the Prime Minister remained silent. The all-party meeting has been called when the Prime Minister is not in the country. It's clear, this meeting is not important for the Prime Minister," Rahul Gandhi tweeted.

Violent clashes broke out in Manipur after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts on May 3 to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

So far, nearly 120 people have lost their lives and over 3,000 are injured.