"PM Must Make A Statement": Nitish Kumar On Manipur Violence

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "silence" over Manipur in Parliament and asked him to make a statement in Parliament on the situation in the northeastern state.

Nitish Kumar, the JD(U) supremo, also said that Opposition parties' demand for a statement from PM Modi is "justified".

"Demand of Opposition parties is justified...the PM must make a statement in Parliament on the current situation in ethnic strife-torn Manipur. There is no sign of an end to the violence. Innocent people are being killed...women are being brutally tortured," Nitish Kumar told reporters here.

The assault on women in Manipur is "horrific and shocking", he said.

"Women were paraded naked. Such incidents are highly condemnable. The PM must make a statement on Manipur in Parliament", he said.

Tension mounted in Manipur after a May 4 video surfaced last week, showing two women from one of the warring communities in the northeastern state being paraded naked by a mob from the other side.

The Manipur Police have so far arrested six people in connection with the incident.

More than 160 people have lost their lives and several were injured since ethnic violence broke out in Manipur 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. Tribals -- Nagas and Kukis -- constitute another 40 per cent of the population and reside in the hill districts. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)