Centre says ready to discuss Manipur violence in Parliament

The Centre on Wednesday said that it’s ready to discuss the situation in violence-hit Manipur, in the Parliament. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said the government was ready for a discussion during the Monsoon Session of Parliament. He, however, termed the opposition’s demand for a statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue a “caveat for disruption.” Speaking to reporters after a customary all-party meeting before the commencement of the session on Thursday, Joshi made it clear the Union Home Ministry was the nodal ministry on the issue of the northeastern state. Since 3 May, over 150 people have been killed in the ethnic clashes between the Kuki and Meitei communities. Violence first broke out after tribal groups launched protests over Manipur High Court’s direction to the state government to consider granting the ST status to the majority Meitei community. Discussion on Manipur non-negotiable: Congress Earlier in the day, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh told PTI that the Opposition’s demand for discussion on issues such as Manipur and price rise during the Monsoon Session is “non-negotiable.” He added that the government must shun its “my way or the highway” approach and follow a middle path for smooth functioning of Parliament. Speaking further on Manipur, Ramesh said, “prime minister Modi has been silent, it is unprecedented…it is a sensitive state and what has happened is shocking and brutal and a complete failure of governance of double engine governance.” Meanwhile, officials have warned that over six lakh bullets and around 3,000 weapons are still with the warring communities in the state, sparking fears over resurgence of banned terror groups in the state. Quoting data collected from various sources, officials closely monitoring the situation here said that .303 rifles, Medium Machine Guns (MMG) and AK assault rifles, carbines, Insas Light Machine Guns (LMG), Insas rifles, M-16 and MP5 rifles were reported to be missing from the armouries of the police in May. Besides these, around 6 lakh bullets have been found missing during the waves of attacks carried out on police and other security officials since 3 May. With inputs from agencies