Congress demands removal of Manipur CM, disarming of armed groups

New Delhi, June 25 (IANS) The Congress on Sunday again reiterated the demand of removal of Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh for failing to control violence in the state and also sought that all armed groups must be disarmed immediately.

The Congress also again targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his continuing silence on violence.

In a series of tweets, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said: “Today, I participated in the National Convention on Peace in Manipur organised by 10 like-minded political parties of Manipur to share my thoughts on the political, administrative and humanitarian disasters in the state of Manipur.”

Hitting out at the Prime Minister, he said: “While Manipur is burning, the Prime Minister is silent, the Home Minister is ineffective, and the Chief Minister is non-functional. To move ahead, the Chief Minister should be replaced immediately and two fundamental steps need to be taken, first disarm all armed groups ruthlessly without any discrimination and second begin the process of creating an atmosphere of trust, harmony and reconciliation.

“We live in hope that Manipur which was an example of Unity through Diversity in India is brought back to the path of normalcy at the earliest”.

His remarks came a day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday held an all-party meeting to discuss the Manipur situation.

The Congress and other opposition parties had, after the all-party meeting, demanded the immediate removal of the Manipur Chief Minister.

Manipur has witnessed violence since May 3 and over 100 people have died while thousands have been forced to flee their home and stay in relief camps.

--IANS
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