As tension continued to prevail in Manipur on Friday, Opposition parties kept up their attack on the BJP, demanding the imposition of President’s rule in the state and seeking Home Minister Amit Shah's resignation. The Congress once again asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “focus his attention on bringing the situation under control in Manipur instead of immersing himself in the election campaign in Karnataka”. “As a Home Minister, you have been a failure. There was an exchange of fire between Assam and Mizoram, there was border tension between Maharashtra and Karnataka. Now Manipur is burning. What moral right do you have to remain in your post? Actually, President's rule should be imposed in Manipur immediately by invoking Article 356 (of the Constitution) and attempts should be made to bring back peace in the state," Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said. Expressing deep concern at the spate of violence in Manipur, RJD Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha wrote a letter to President Droupadi Murmu. Calling for the imposition of President's rule in the state, he said the state government had "failed" to maintain law and order. "Manipur has a complex ethnic and political landscape, with several communities living in the region. Ethnic conflicts with their roots in the colonial era have been a significant challenge for the state. The demand for Scheduled Tribe status for the Meitei community has been a contentious issue, with other communities in Manipur opposing it. This issue has led to violence and protests in the past, and the recent escalation of violence is a matter of grave concern," he wrote. The situation, he alleged , has “only worsened recently due to the partisan attitude of the state government and its complete failure to maintain law and order”. "You might be aware that the violence has affected innocent civilians, disrupted normal life and created an atmosphere of fear and insecurity. Majoritarian violence in one state of the country conveys impunity for similar violence in the rest of the country and provides encouragement to destabilising forces. I, therefore, urge you to consider imposing President's rule in Manipur," Jha said. The imposition of President's rule is a measure of the “last resort”, he said adding that he believes that in the current situation, it is necessary to protect the lives and property of the people of Manipur. "I urge you to ask the Union government to take immediate action to address the situation and ensure that peace and stability are restored in the state," he said. Attacking the BJP, the CPI said the “ongoing turmoil in Manipur is a direct result of the policy of dividing the people pursued by the so-called ‘double engine’ government of the BJP.” “Divide and strife between people was encouraged for electoral gains and has resulted in a strategically located state like Manipur being engulfed by all-encompassing violence. This violence has a background of divisions and it cannot be controlled enduringly by using force. This is testimony to the failure of the Manipur policy pursued by the Union Home Ministry and the state government,” it said in a statement. The CPI added that it knows that the conflict is a “political and social conflict and not merely a law and order issue”. It asked the Union Home Ministry and the state government of Manipur to reach out to all stakeholders and political parties for the immediate cessation of hostilities. “A political solution to the crisis should be reached by taking all opinions and people into confidence and restoring normalcy and peace in Manipur,” it said. The Imphal Valley in Manipur remained peaceful but tense on Friday. However, intermittent gunfights between militant groups and security forces were reported from the hill districts surrounding the valley.
