Violence in Manipur: Houses of state health minister and five MLAs set on fire

The houses of Manipur’s health minister and five other lawmakers were set on fire in Churachandpur district on Monday. Violence erupted in the district over Inner Line Permit issue, reports said. The houses belonged to Manipur’s health minister Phungzathang Tonsing and MLAs Manga Vaiphei from Henglep constituency and Vungzagin Valte from Thanlom constituency, police told PTI. According to this report in NDTV, groups, which were against passing of the bill, (that seeks to regulate the entry of outsiders into Manipur through a permit system) created a ruckus at around 6 pm on Monday. “At the moment, we are having a tough time bringing the situation under control,” NDTV quoted a senior police officer as saying. Indefinite curfew has been imposed in the area. [caption id=“attachment_2415620” align=“alignleft” width=“380” class=" “]  Image courtesy: @ANI_news[/caption] The Manipur Assembly on Monday unanimously passed three bills to protect the indigenous people of the state, PTI report said. They were the Protection of Manipur People Bill, 2015, the Manipur Land Revenue and Land Reforms (7th amendment) Bill, 2015 and the Manipur Shops and Establishments (Second Amendment) Bill, 2015. A spokesman of the Joint Committee of Inner Line Permit (JCILP) expressed satisfaction over the passage of the bills. According to the report, one of the clauses in the bills is to set 1951 as the base year to identify non-indigenous people, who are regarded as outsiders by a section. According to the new law, those who settled in Manipur before 1951, could have property rights. “The rest will have to give up property and may even be asked to leave.” The state government on Monday also adopted a resolution relating to the “Peace Accord” signed by the Government of India and NSCN(I-M). The said lawmakers were targetted because they did not oppose to the bill and let it pass, sources told NDTV. With PTI inputs