Union home minister Amit Shah will chair a meeting on Monday evening to review the security situation in Manipur, the first such high-level meeting by the central government after the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was re-elected to power earlier this month.
People familiar with the development said senior officials from the Centre, state governments including chief minister N Biren Singh, army and other security forces are expected to attend the meeting at 4pm.
Since May 3 last year, Manipur has witnessed clashes between the two communities Kukis and Meiteis, which has claimed at least 225 lives to date and uprooted around 50,000 people, many of whom are still residing in relief centres.
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The northeastern state has seen fresh violence in the last couple of weeks with a school building near Moreh being set ablaze and a missing person’s beheaded body found was found.
Last week, armed militants ambushed the convoy of Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh’s advanced security team in Kangpokpi district, leaving a civilian driver and a security officer injured.
On June 10, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Dr Mohan Bhagwat said that Manipur has been waiting for peace since a year and this issue must be prioritised.
Bhagwat stressed the need to get over with election rhetoric and focus on problems facing the nation.
RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale described the ongoing violence in Manipur as “painful” and “worrisome”.
In a statement, he said the Sangh believes that the solution to any problem is possible only “through mutual dialogue and expression of brotherhood in a peaceful atmosphere.”
Earlier, Shah had visited Manipur last month, and held nine peace meetings with representatives of both Meitei and Kuki communities to broker peace, however, there has been no respite in violence.
