In violence-hit Manipur, the general buzz associated with elections and the related paraphernalia of posters, banners and rallies are missing but it is the presence of these brown boxes with pictures of guns that is symbolic of the strife-ridden society struggling to return to normalcy.
Members from various opposition parties, including the Congress, sought to raise the Manipur issue immediately after the House convened and some of them shouted slogans.
The violence broke out in the district on Thursday night as the mob barged into the government complex and torched vehicles hours after a head constable of the district police was suspended after he was seen with gunmen in a purported video, an official said.
The BJP accused Congress leaders of colluding with foreign forces to destabilize India and demanded Sonia Gandhi to disclose her role in a George Soros Foundation-funded organization's activities. The ruling party also attacked Rahul Gandhi, calling him a "pawn" for his protests against the Adani issue.
'The opposition parties didn't want voting as it would have exposed the cracks in their alliance. They ran away from the House'
There is the problem of regions in the North East being theatre for power-play by nations with borders and influences converging in those parts, which in turn requires a sizable presence of the armed forces, notes Shyam G Menon.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has signed an 'agreement of cooperation' with several party members who might be fielded in the upcoming Manipur assembly elections, in a bid to prevent switching of allegiance before the polls.
For the most battle-hardened, specialised and successful counter-insurgency army in the world, this is an unfamiliar, first-time experience of dealing with the north east's deepest complexities, observes Shekhar Gupta.
'One of our MLA's homes has already been attacked by the mob. This legislator was beaten. This MLA belongs to the Meitei community.' 'There is a complete collapse of law and order in Manipur.'
'There are 7,000 guns which are in the hands of the armed militia of the Kuki and Meitei communities.'
The cricketer-turned-BJP MP from East Delhi told reporters on the sidelines of an event that Manipur-like incidents are not a common occurrence and it is the duty of the state's chief minister to not let these happen.
Zoramthanga's MNF is a part of the BJP-led North East Democratic Alliance and an ally of the NDA at the Centre.
Most of the Kuki MLAs irrespective of their party affiliations are unlikely to attend the Manipur assembly session slated to be called from August 21 in view of the continued ethnic violence, according to leaders from the community.
Sarma claimed there has been a lot of improvement in the neighbouring state in the last month.
'The State uses identity politics as part of divide and rule; the militant groups too use identity politics and civil society groups are also divided along ethnic groups.'
A delegation of the National Commission for Women (NCW), led by its chairman Vijaya Rahatkar, met with riot-affected women in Murshidabad district of West Bengal, assuring them of safety and demanding an NIA probe into the recent communal clashes. The women narrated their harrowing experiences and demanded permanent BSF camps in select areas of the district. The NCW team also visited relief camps in Malda district and assessed the condition of women affected by the violence.
The MLAs who joined the BJP were Ngamthang Haokip, Y Surchandra Singh, S Bira Singh MLA and O Lukhoi Singh.
'Deeply hurt by Modi's conspicuous silence for over a month-and-a-half since the outbreak of violence, people in Manipur came on the roads and crushed their radio sets to express their frustration and anger.' 'The fact that Modi's Mann Ki Baat did not have a single reference to the Manipur violence further accentuated this hurt and anger.'
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh, accompanied by four of his cabinet ministers and Bharatiya Janata Party state president Sarada Devi, met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on Sunday, state minister and government spokesperson Sapam Ranjan Singh told PTI.
'It is difficult to replace him because if he is replaced, it will lead to a sense of defeat among the Meiteis, rightly or wrongly, and more chaos.'
'Can they (the Union government) provide security to every tribal in the valley? This is impossible now.'
The accusation comes a day after the President's secretariat forwarded the assertions of the Opposition BJP that Delhi was facing a constitutional crisis to the ministry of home affairs for "proper attention".
'...through the will of the people and commitment of leaders.' 'It may not happen today or tomorrow, but it will happen.'
'Why is it that no other institutions are attacked? Why are only educational institutions run by Christians attacked?'
'The Centre prevaricates on the question of effecting a change of state-level leadership or on the imposition of President's rule in the state.'
"My heart is full of pain and anger," he told reporters in his remarks ahead of Parliament's Monsoon Session, amid his criticism by opposition parties for not speaking on the ethnic violence in the north east state.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has announced the formation of a panel headed by a retired Supreme Court judge to study the relationship between the Union and state governments and ensure state autonomy. The panel, which will submit its interim report in January 2026 and its final report in two years, will examine the transfer of subjects from the State List to the Concurrent List, citing the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) as an example of a subject outside state purview.
While the Congress demanded immediate sacking of Chief Minister N Biren Singh, the Samajwadi Party and a few others sought imposition of President's rule in the state that has witnessed sporadic violence in since May 3.
Government spokesperson and Information and Public Relations Minister Sapam Rajan said that the government is making efforts towards this end.
Unless the anarchy in Manipur is brought under control quickly, we are sowing the seeds of a flare up in the entire North East and the end of our dream of checking China in South East Asia, warns Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The BJP also promised Rs 25,000 to girls from economically weaker sections under the 'Rani Gaidinliu Nupi Maheiroi Singi Scheme' if voted back to power.
'It will be the end of the Congress after the Lok Sabha election.' 'Many Congressmen and even Communists will move to the BJP.'
The opposition Congress has decided to support the bandh in protest against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's 'failure' to control the situation in the north-eastern state, a party spokesperson said on Saturday.
Those who quit included deputy chief minister Y JoyKumar Singh.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah should tell from where do Kuki militants get rifles and ammunition, it said.
Henry Okram, nephew of former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Ibobi Singh, Panonam Broken, Oinam Lukhoi Singh, Ngamthang Haokip, Ginsuanhau Zou were inducted into the BJP by its vice president Baijayant Jay Panda.
A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud took note of the submissions by lawyer Nizam Pasha, appearing for the women, that the CBI has asked them to come and depose before it during the day.
Manipur Chief Minister Nongthombam Biren Singh is facing renewed scrutiny over his handling of the ethnic violence that erupted in the state in May 2023. Leaked audio tapes allegedly featuring Singh, in which he is purportedly heard discussing how the violence was instigated with his approval, have sparked fresh controversy. The Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Trust (KOHUR) has demanded a court-monitored investigation into the authenticity of the tapes, leading to a Supreme Court ruling ordering the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) to verify the tapes' authenticity and submit a report. Singh's tenure has been marked by controversies, including allegations of instigating conflict and questions regarding his governance. Despite a public apology in December 2023 for the violence, the leaked audio tapes have further intensified criticism of his leadership.
The agency filed the charge sheet against six people and a report against one child in conflict with the law before a special CBI court in Guwahati, nearly three months Manipur Police made arrests in the case.
The Congress on Thursday slammed the Centre after a May 4 video of two women being paraded naked in Manipur surfaced, with party president Mallikarjun Kharge accusing the Narendra Modi government of turning democracy into 'mobocracy'.
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