Union Home Minister Amit Shah explained in Lok Sabha today why the state government in Manipur has not been dismissed despite the ethnic clashes since May that has claimed more than 150 lives. The N Biren Singh government has been "cooperative", he said, brushing off Opposition demands for imposition of President's Rule in the state.
The Opposition has demanded that the state government be dismissed in view of its inability to contain the violence that has been generating horror stories since May. Ahead of the monsoon session, the country was shocked as a video of two women being paraded naked by a mob in the state went viral.
Even before that, during a meeting with Amit Shah in June, the Opposition had demanded the removal of the N Biren Singh government.
"You cannot have peace if that person is in charge," RJD MP Manoj Jha had said at the meeting, highlighting the Opposition's lack of trust in the state's leadership.
The demand was reiterated yesterday in parliament by various Opposition leaders, including Congress's Gaurav Gogoi, Nationalist Congress Party's Supriya Sule, and Trinamool Congress's Saugata Roy.
"They are sending delegations to West Bengal on any plea but not one delegation has gone to Manipur where our brothers and sisters are dying. You have no compassion, that is why you have not gone to Manipur... I demand the present government be immediately dismissed and President's Rule imposed in the state," Mr Roy said.
Today, Amit Shah said President's Rule is "imposed when the state government does not cooperate, but the Manipur government did, the Chief Minister is cooperating".
It brought a sharp retort from the Opposition. Gaurav Gogoi told news agency ANI: "60,000 people are living in shelter camps, and they (the Centre) are saying that the Chief Minister is cooperating. Don't want such kind of cooperation, the Prime Minister should remove the Chief Minister on moral grounds."
"Is this the kind of cooperation being extended by Manipur CM (to the Centre) where arms have been looted from police stations? Home Department and the CM don't have the courage to accept their mistake," he added.
The government has claimed that the situation in Manipur is slowly returning to normal. Around 36,000 security personnel have been deployed in the state.
A "Tribal Solidarity March" held on May 3 to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe status had sparked violence in Manipur.
The Opposition parties have criticised the government's handling of the situation, with violence persisting for nearly three months. Amit Shah had visited the state last month in an attempt to restore peace.
