Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh, responding to Opposition queries, mentioned his government moved people from violence-affected areas like Churachandpur, Moreh, and Imphal to safer places to ensure their protection.
The CM elucidated they lost sleep and were in the office discussing swift actions when violence broke out on May 3. Those hit in Moreh were kept at an Assam Rifles camp and those in Churachandpur were in the Secretariat.
At the beginning, they thought of accommodating them there, but due to constant demand for help and pressure claiming the affected were not safe, the government decided to evacuate them.
Questions are now being asked, Biren Singh noted, about why people were moved from Churachandpur and Moreh to Imphal Valley and vice versa, but otherwise actions would have led to incidents and it would have created frustration.
The CM stated mobs of tens of thousands had gathered and firing indiscriminately was not an option. He blamed anti-social elements, who are working to sabotage the peace process, citing incidents of arson in the Jiribam district a day after peace initiatives were declared.
Irrespective of this, he said signs of peace are emerging, with 133 people who had fled Jiribam recently returning home.
The government is constantly working to ensure other displaced people come back home. Since May last year, more than 200 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless due to ethnic violence between Meiteis and Kukis.
