Shashi Tharoor calls for President’s rule in Manipur: ‘voters feeling grossly betrayed’

Hitting out at the ruling BJP in Manipur over the clashes between tribals and members of the dominant Meitei community, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Sunday called for President’s rule in the state. Tharoor said the voters of Manipur are feeling “gross betrayed” just a year after voting the Bharatiya Janata Party back into power.

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor called for President’s rule in Manipur.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor called for President’s rule in Manipur.
“As the Manipur violence persists, all right-thinking Indians must ask themselves what happened to the much-vaunted good governance we had been promised,” Tharoor wrote on Twitter.

“The voters of Manipur are feeling grossly betrayed just a year after putting the BJP in power in their state. It’s time for President’s Rule; the state Govt is just not up to the job they were elected to do,” he added.

The northeastern state saw ethnic clashes between Meiteis, the dominant community in Imphal Valley with over 53% of the total state population, and the tribal communities, especially Kukis, residing in the hill districts. The immediate trigger for the violence was a proposal to include Meiteis in the scheduled tribe (ST) category.

The death toll rose to at least 55 on Saturday but there was little clarity on the true scale of the damage and fatalities after the state convulsed through two days of violence.

The state government, meanwhile, has relaxed the curfew that prohibited the movement of any person outside their homes will be relaxed for three hours in violence-hit Manipur’s Churachandpur district on Sunday morning to allow people to buy essential items, according to a notification.

The curfew imposed under section 144 of the CrPC will be relaxed from 7 am to 10 am, it said.

It was also relaxed on Saturday for two hours from 3 pm to 5 pm.

“With the law and order situation improving in Churachandpur district and after talks were held between the state government and various stakeholders, I’m pleased to share that the curfew will be partially relaxed as per the details shared below (sic),” chief minister N Biren Singh tweeted on Saturday night, sharing a copy of the notification.