NEW DELHI: Manipur BJP MLA and son-in-law of chief minister N Biren Singh, Rajkumar Imo Singh, in a letter on Monday requested the centre to withdraw central forces from the state if they are unable to effectively halt the ongoing violence on Monday. Singh, who wrote the letter to union minister Amit Shah, argued that the presence of around 60,000 central forces in Manipur has failed to establish peace in the state.
He also suggested that the centre should allow state security personnel to take charge in an effort to restore normalcy in the ethnic strife-hit state.
“The presence of around 60,000 central forces in Manipur is not yielding peace, thus it’s better to remove such forces which are mostly present as mute spectators,” he wrote.
Acknowledging the recent action taken to withdraw certain units of the Assam Rifles due to their lack of cooperation with the state government and the public, he said, “We are pleased with the action to remove certain units of Assam Rifles who were not cooperating with the state government and the public, but if the presence of these and other central forces cannot halt violence, it is better to remove them and allow the state forces to take charge and bring peace.”
Singh further proposed that the central government transfer the Unified Command authority to the state government, under the leadership of the chief minister.
“The central government has to hand over the Unified Command to the state government headed by chief minister and allow it to act as per the procedures prescribed by law to bring peace and normalcy in the state,” Singh added.
In his letter, Singh called on the central government to take stricter measures against militant and insurgent groups that have breached the ground rules of the Suspension of Operations (SOO) agreement.
Singh said that these groups are fueling violence in the state and urged Shah to cancel SOO agreements with them.
Moreover, the BJP MLA requested the centre to conduct an investigation into the funding and supply of arms and ammunition that he believes is exacerbating the conflict.
He also suggested that the centre should allow state security personnel to take charge in an effort to restore normalcy in the ethnic strife-hit state.
“The presence of around 60,000 central forces in Manipur is not yielding peace, thus it’s better to remove such forces which are mostly present as mute spectators,” he wrote.
Acknowledging the recent action taken to withdraw certain units of the Assam Rifles due to their lack of cooperation with the state government and the public, he said, “We are pleased with the action to remove certain units of Assam Rifles who were not cooperating with the state government and the public, but if the presence of these and other central forces cannot halt violence, it is better to remove them and allow the state forces to take charge and bring peace.”
Singh further proposed that the central government transfer the Unified Command authority to the state government, under the leadership of the chief minister.
“The central government has to hand over the Unified Command to the state government headed by chief minister and allow it to act as per the procedures prescribed by law to bring peace and normalcy in the state,” Singh added.
In his letter, Singh called on the central government to take stricter measures against militant and insurgent groups that have breached the ground rules of the Suspension of Operations (SOO) agreement.
Singh said that these groups are fueling violence in the state and urged Shah to cancel SOO agreements with them.
Moreover, the BJP MLA requested the centre to conduct an investigation into the funding and supply of arms and ammunition that he believes is exacerbating the conflict.
Source Agencies
