Talks only way to bring peace in Manipur: Kiren Rijiju

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju emphasizes peaceful negotiations to restore peace in Manipur amid ongoing ethnic violence.

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday, March 7, 2024, said negotiations are the only means to restore peace in ethnic violence-hit Manipur and returning the State to normalcy will be the Narendra Modi government's next phase of efforts.

Mr. Rijiju put the blame for the ongoing ethnic clashes between the Meitei and Kuki communities in the northeastern state on a Manipur High Court order recommending Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to the Meiteis. The violence has claimed at least 219 lives in the restive state.

Mr. Rijiju said the problem in Manipur was not an uprising against the BJP-led Centre but ethnic clashes between two dominant groups -- the Meiteis and the Kukis.

"If anyone wants to help restore peace in Manipur, then first go and appeal to both the Meities and the Kukis that do not pick up arms. An armed struggle will not lead to a solution. Peaceful negotiations are the only means to achieve a peaceful atmosphere and get normalcy back. That will be the next phase of our efforts to bring development in Manipur," he told PTI in a video interview.

The Union Minister of Earth Sciences said the Centre has been trying its best to restore peace and Prime Minister Modi had appealed for peace from the ramparts of the Red Fort as well as from Parliament.

"In fact, this year's Independence Day speech began with an appeal to Manipur that the whole nation is with you. Despite that they (opposition) are raking up this issue," he said.

Mr. Rijiju, who hails from Arunachal Pradesh, said those who want peace to be restored in Manipur should emphatically say that the warring groups must stop violence and talk to each other as that is the only way out.