Manipur CM meets Governor again amid relapse of violence in state

Imphal, Sep 8 (IANS) Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh for the second consecutive day on Sunday met Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya at the Raj Bhavan and briefed him about the prevailing situation in the state, officials said. 

A Raj Bhavan official said that the Chief Minister submitted a 'memorandum' to the Governor but neither the official nor Singh disclosed anything about the content of the memorandum.

However, a highly placed source close to the Chief Minister's Office said that Singh in the memorandum proposed some steps to deal with the ongoing ethnic hostilities in the state.

"The Governor would forward the memorandum, submitted by the Chief Minister, to the Central government for taking the necessary course of action," the source told IANS on the condition of anonymity.

During the meeting with the Governor, the Chief Minister was accompanied by state Assembly Speaker Thokchom Satyabrata Singh, a few Ministers and MLAs.

The Chief Minister also met the Governor on Saturday after a meeting with the MLAs of BJP and other coalition partners at the CM secretariat.

An official said that in the meeting with the legislators, the Chief Minister discussed the current law and order situation in the state especially after the stepped-up violent incidents.

The Chief Minister's meeting with the Governor twice -- on Saturday and Sunday -- and submission of memorandum assumed significance after the escalated violence in the trouble-torn state and killing at least nine people, including woman and elderly persons in different districts in between September 1 and 7.

Amid the rising violence, influential BJP MLA Rajkumar Imo Singh, who is the son-in-law of Chief Minister Biren Singh, last week requested Union Home Minister Amit Shah to withdraw 60,000 central forces from the state claiming "they are not yielding peace".

Imo Singh wrote to the Home Minister stating that the presence of around 60,000 central forces in Manipur "is not yielding peace, thus it's better to remove such forces who are mostly present as mute spectators".

"If the presence of central forces cannot stop the violence, it is better to remove them and allow the state forces to take charge and bring peace in Manipur," the MLA had said in the letter.

Congress Lok Sabha MP from Manipur Angomcha Bimol Akoijam on Saturday asked the Central government to take responsibility for the deaths and destruction occurred in the state which has been in the grip of an ethnic unrest for the past 16 months now.

Akoijam, who was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Inner Manipur seat where he defeated BJP's Thounaojam Basanta Kumar Singh earlier this year, said that despite 60,000 security personnel deployed in the state since the ethnic violence broke out in May last year, the situation has not improved.

The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), an apex body of the Meitei community, on Friday called a "public emergency" and urged the people to remain indoors, claiming "the government failed to provide security to the common people".

COCOMI coordinator Thokchom Somorendro, announcing the "public emergency" had said that all schools, colleges and educational institutions must be shut indefinitely till the "situation improves".

Director General of Police, Manipur, Rajiv Singh earlier said that the state police are in touch with the Director General National Security Guard (NSG) and other experts to seek their support about the recent attacks on civilians by the militants using drones and sophisticated weapons.

The Manipur Police chief said that the bombing using drones are new development in Manipur and Manipur Police has already through social media said that it has been escalated and the police are taking it very seriously.

"I have personally spoken to everybody in Delhi. I have also spoken to DG NSG and his team. Other experts are coming in, and we have formed a high-level committee to look into the drone attack and related other issues," the DGP had said.

--IANS

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