My Job Is To Bring Peace: Manipur CM Biren Singh Amid Calls For Resignation

Amidst calls for his resignation, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh has clarified that his job is to bring peace to the state.

The opposition parties have targeted the BJP, demanding his resignation after the video of two women being paraded naked in the state surfaced online.

"People are protesting across the state regarding the incident and demanding the strictest punishment for the accused. Accused number one, who was arrested earlier, his house was burnt by women yesterday. Manipur society is against crime against women. They consider women as their mothers. This protest is to support the government to punish the accused," Biren Singh said.

When asked to respond on calls for his resignation over the law and order situation in Manipur, Singh said "I don't want to go into this. My job is to bring peace to the state. Miscreants are there in every society but we will not spare them."

Tension mounted in the hills of Manipur after the May 4 video surfaced on Wednesday showing two women from one of the warring communities being paraded naked by a group of men from the other side.

Four people have been arrested in connection with the incident, as the 26-second video capturing the ordeal of the two tribal women a day, after ethnic violence erupted in the northeastern state on May 3, stoked a nationwide outrage.

The horrific footage surfaced only on Wednesday and became viral after the internet ban was lifted. More than 160 people have lost their lives, and several have been injured since ethnic violence broke out in the state on May 3 when a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley, while tribals, which include Nagas and Kukis, constitute 40 per cent and reside mostly in the hill districts.