Prachi Mishra, Pune
For the first time since the Meitei and the Kuki-Zo ethnic clash that broke out in the state of Manipur, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh.
The ethnic conflict in Manipur began in the month of May, 2023 and there seems no end to it even now. Around 224 people died during the violent dissension and more than 60,000 people were displaced from their houses either forcefully or through their consent both temporarily and permanently. And, these are just official statistics.
PM Modi hasn’t visited Manipur even once since the violence started. So, the meeting between the PM and the CMs or Deputy CMs of BJP ruled state that was held this Sunday in Delhi marked their first meeting together. It was a one-on-one meeting between the two in which Manipur’s current state was given the prime importance.
The meeting took place as a result of the criticism made by the opposition on Modi’s silence on this issue over the past 14 months. The issue was also taken into the parliament and a long-heated debate occurred on it.
According to the reports, it was a very short meeting and ended on a positive note. But, Congress member Jairam Ramesh through a post on X raised the question of whether such a meeting eventually even was held or not. He argued that normally we can see at least the photographs of such private meetings but neither our Prime Minister nor Manipur’s CM Mr. Biren has posted any pictures regarding the meeting.
Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh were also reportedly part of this meeting. There has been no information released regarding what all was discussed in the meeting. Even though reports confirmed the meeting ended on good terms, speculations are ripe that Mr. Biren is also likely to be replaced like Manipur’s Governor Anusuiya Uikey. She was the one asking questions and demanding answers from the central government on the shabby and devastating conditions of the relief areas.
Before leaving for New Delhi and meeting PM Modi, Singh had shared with the local media that he would try to find quick results on this issue.