Peace in Manipur is Centre’s priority, says Shah
Union home minister Amit Shah on Monday said the BJP-led central government’s priority is to establish peace in ethnic strife-affected Manipur and ruled out any division of the North-eastern state.
This Lok Sabha election is between forces trying to break Manipur and those keeping it united, Shah said at a public meeting in Imphal.
“No matter how hard anyone tries, we will not let anyone divide Manipur,” he said.
The senior BJP leader claimed that attempts at infiltration were being made in the state to change its demography. “Establishment of peace in Manipur by taking all communities on board and without breaking the state is the priority of the Narendra Modi government,” Shah said.
At least 219 people were killed after ethnic clashes broke out in Manipur on 3 May last year, when a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organized in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
The destiny of the country will change when that of the North-east and Manipur changes, he added.
“The Congress has an agenda to divide Manipur. But I want to say no one has the courage to divide Manipur,” he said.
“This election is to make Modi the prime minister for the third time. This election is not between the Congress and the BJP but between forces who talk about breaking Manipur and who want to keep Manipur united,” Shah said.
The minister alleged that the Congress wants to divide the country into North and South. “The Congress says what will happen by going to small states but these small states are the soul of the country. Congress never honoured Manipur and kept the state under blockade for thousands of days. Not just bandhs, fake encounters were also conducted by the Ibobi Singh government,” Shah said.