Amit Shah explains what fuelled the fire in Manipur and why Centre did not remove CM Biren Singh

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday explained the factors that led to clashes in Manipur and what steps the central government took to control the situation in the northeastern state where violence between two communities - Meitie and Kukis - began on May 3. 

During the discussion on the no-confidence motion in Lok Sabha, Shah said that over the last six years, the Centre didn't have to impose a curfew in Manipur until May 3. "There was no bandh, no blockade in Manipur. Insurgent violence was almost over. Then, neighbouring Myanmar saw a military leadership coming into power. Kukis resisted it and the military began a crackdown on them. Due to no fencing at the Myanmar border, the Kuki brothers started coming into Mizoram and Manipur, which created insecurities among Meities," Shah Shah said in Lok Sabha.

Explaining the factors that led to clashes, Shah said that on April 29, a rumour spread that some refugee settlements in forest areas were declared as villages. The government, he said, announced that no such villages were declared but rumours still spread due to trust deficit. The Home Minister said that what fuelled the fire was Manipur High Court's order, directing the state government to consider Tribal status to Meities. Due to this, he said, a clash broke out on May 3.

Countering the charge by the opposition that PM Modi does not care about Manipur, Amit Shah informed the House that the Prime Minister called him at 4 and 6:30 am after the violence broke out. He said the Centre monitored the situation on May 3, 4 and 5. "We did 16 video conferencing, deployed 36,000 CAPF (Central Armed Police Forces) personnel, used Air Force planes, changed chief secretary and DGP, sent security advisor...we did all these things by May 4 evening (a day after the violence started)," the home minister said.

Shah also responded why the Centre did not use Article 356 to invoke President's rule in Manipur. He said Article 356 is used when the state government is not cooperating with the Centre during the violence. He also explained why the Centre did not remove Chief Minister Biren Singh. "A state chief minister needs to be changed when he is not cooperating. This CM is operated with the Centre," he said.

The Home Minister also talked about the horrific video in which two women were paraded naked. He called the incident shameful and said it cannot be accepted. He, however, said that video came out just a day before the parliamentary session was to begin. He said if the video was with someone for a month, it should have been released earlier.