Silence in Manipur is not normal, says state MP

New Delhi: Lok Sabha member A Bimol Akoijam expressed anguish over the absence of any reference to ethnic violence-hit Manipur in Speaker Droupadi Murmu’s address to the joint sitting of both houses of Parliament. In a fiery speech late Monday night, the newly elected Congress member from interior Manipur drew attention to the 60,000 people living in deplorable conditions in relief camps in the northeastern state for the past one year.

He said that every inch of Manipur was under the control of the central armed forces, but 60,000 people were homeless and thousands of villages had been destroyed. “Our Prime Minister is silent, not even uttering a word, and the President’s speech did not mention this. This silence is not normal,” Akoijam said in his speech. He said that over 200 people had lost their lives and a civil war-like situation had ensued, with armed individuals roaming around, fighting each other and defending their villages, while the Indian state remained a mute spectator to this tragedy for the past one year.