Manipur Violence Triggers BJP Leader Resignations; 1 Killed in Jiribam Protests

Manipur Violence Triggers BJP Leader Resignations: One protestor was reportedly killed while another was wounded in alleged police firing at Jiribam in ethnic violence-hit Manipur last night even as the worst scenario due to the clashes prompted the state government to close educational institutions and extend a curfew for two days till Tuesday.

Two persons died in the firing, which reports mentioned were identified to be Khundrakpam Athouba, 20, and K Bishan, 26; K Bishan was reportedly injured. Evidently, the two were protesters who damaged public property and offices of political parties in Jiribam.

It were those bodies that once again brought the violent situation in Jiribam to a boil when a 65-year-old woman and her two-and-a-half-year-old grandson were found floating in the Barak river in Assam's Cachar district, about 30km away. The bodies were recovered days after they were among the six members of a Meitei family abducted on November 11 during a festival celebration. Three bodies of the members of this family have been recovered so far.

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Angry mobs on Sunday ransacked the offices of Congress and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Jiribam after the recovery of the two bodies. In Imphal Valley, protesters ransacked Independent legislator Ashab Uddina's building.

On Saturday, mobs set ablaze the homes of three legislators from the BJP, including a minister, and a member of Congress of the Imphal Valley. Security forces successfully prevented an attempt to storm the ancestral residence of chief minister N Biren Singh.

More Army and Assam Rifles people are rushed to various key areas of Imphal valley and Thoubal. The authorities have clamped an indefinite curfew on Imphal Valley and suspended internet services in Imphal West, Imphal East, Bishnupur, Thoubal, Kakching, Kangkokpi, and Churchandpur.

Fresh violence broke out when reportedly members of the radical Meitei organisation Arambai Tenggol allegedly raped, shot and burnt a 31-year-old Kuki woman at Jiribam on November 8. Security forces then killed 10 suspected Kuki militants alleged to have attacked a paramilitary post.

Hundreds protested in Churachandpur on Friday demanding justice for the 10, claiming they were village volunteers and not militants.

The Union government undertook the deployment of 20 more companies of paramilitary forces, or roughly 2,500 personnel, to Manipur. It reimposed the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in areas falling under six police stations across five districts even as the state government has been urging their withdrawal. Central Reserve Police Force chief Anish Dayal Singh too was sent to Manipur as the violence escalates.

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Ethnic violence has split Manipur successfully into the Meitei-dominated Imphal valley and the Kuki-majority hills. Both communities' militants have attacked across districts, leading the security forces to create buffer zones and set up camps.

In Delhi, Union home minister Amit Shah on Monday was scheduled to hold a meeting on the deteriorating situation in Manipur a day after he cancelled his Maharashtra poll rallies and returned to Delhi. Chief minister Biren Singh was also set to meet BJP lawmakers at 6pm amid reports of simmering rebellion within the ruling party.

The NPP, which has seven legislators in the 60-member Manipur assembly, pulled out support from the BJP-led government in Manipur on Sunday, stating it has "completely failed to resolve the crisis and restore normalcy". The move does not threaten the government since it enjoys a majority of its own.

HT reported on Monday that two BJP lawmakers left for Delhi on Sunday to discuss the crisis, and 19 are considering resignation.

The BJP had 32 legislators before five Janata Dal (United) or JD(U) legislators joined the party. Seven of the BJP legislators are Kuki-Zo-Hmar. The Naga People's Front has five members in the assembly, JD(U) one and Congress five. There are also three independent lawmakers while Kuki People's Alliance has two. People aware of the matter said 15-19 BJP legislators want a change.

Most probably, the seven NPP lawmakers will not attend Biren Singh's meeting, said a BJP leader who wanted his name not to be published. “There are also 10 tribal MLAs [members of assembly] who have been demanding the chief minister’s resignation for the last 18 months. They have not even come to Imphal all these months. But it will be interesting to see how many of the remaining BJP MLAs will attend the meeting.”

Reports of the so-called 19 lawmakers have been viral but this matter is unclear, said another party leader. “Many of these MLAs were part of a meeting with the chief minister just yesterday [Sunday].”

On Sunday, former chief minister and Congress leader O Ibobi Singh held the state and central governments responsible for the situation declining to such an extent. He said demands for Biren Singh's resignation are an internal BJP matter. He added that people do not subscribe to the idea of president's rule. He said that crisis has to be addressed through constitutional means and not through central rule.

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