Imphal: Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who is currently visiting Manipur, held consultations with various stakeholders which started with a breakfast meeting with a group of women leaders and a separate meeting with prominent personalities as part of his efforts to bring lasting peace in the violence-hit state on Tuesday.

He also held another meeting with a delegation of civil society organisations as part of his outreach and they expressed their commitment to peace and assured that they would work for restoring normalcy in Manipur. “Held a meeting with a group of women leaders (Meira Paibi) in Manipur. Reiterated the significance of the role of women in the society of Manipur. Together, we are committed to ensuring peace and prosperity in the state,” Shah tweeted.

Held a meeting with a group of women leaders (Meira Paibi) in Manipur. Reiterated the significance of the role of women in the society of Manipur. Together, we are committed to ensuring peace and prosperity in the state. pic.twitter.com/z2Qj7adyAz
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) May 30, 2023

In a separate tweet, Shah said “Had a fruitful discussion with the members of the different Civil Society Organisations today in Imphal. They expressed their commitment to peace and assured that we would together contribute to paving the way to restore normalcy in Manipur.”

Had a fruitful discussion with the members of the different Civil Society Organizations today in Imphal. They expressed their commitment to peace and assured that we would together contribute to paving the way to restore normalcy in Manipur. pic.twitter.com/ao9b7pinGf
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) May 30, 2023

According to a Home Ministry spokesperson, in the meeting in Imphal this morning, prominent personalities assured their commitment to peace and also that they would work towards restoring peace in the state.

After his arrival in Imphal last night, Shah met Chief Minister N Biren Singh, some cabinet ministers, officials and a few political leaders. Shah is on a four-day visit to Manipur during which he will hold several rounds of security meetings to assess the situation and plan further steps to restore normalcy, sources said. This is the first time the home minister is visiting the northeastern state since the ethnic clashes began in Manipur on May 3.

Manipur Govt To Take Action Against Those Spreading Misinformation

The Manipur government has announced to take action against those found to be generating, sharing or publishing any wrong information which can worsen the current law and order situation in the state. A state government official on Tuesday said that Manipur Chief Secretary Vineet Joshi in a notification said that a number of individuals in responsible positions with large followings on social media have been observed to be directly involved in generating or sharing information in connection with the ongoing law and order situation in the state.

It said that much of such information has been found to be fake news, lies, rumours or misinformation and the generation of such wrong information has the potential to worsen the current situation in the state by misguiding public opinion, instigating violence and rebelling against the authority of the state with or without use of arms, leading to death of human lives, casualties on bodies and destruction and damage of properties while the state government is making all efforts to restore peace and normalcy.

The Chief Secretary in his notification said that no person would be immune to prosecution under the laws of the country if he/she is found to be generating or spreading fake news, lies, rumours or misinformation. The state government shall not hesitate to take action as per law, against those persons found to be generating or sharing or publishing any wrong information which can worsen the current law and order situation in Manipur. Every person, acting individually or on behalf of any group of persons, based within the state of Manipur or outside, shall verify any information before sharing or publishing on any social media platform or through any medium, by means of any tool whatsoever, physical, virtual, audio-visual or electronic, the notification stated.

Challenges Remains In Manipur: CDS

Meanwhile, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan on Tuesday said challenges in Manipur have not disappeared, but expressed hope that things will settle down in some time while noting the situation in the north-eastern state now is not related to insurgency.

Chauhan was in Pune on Tuesday to review the passing out parade of the 144th course of the National Defence Academy (NDA). Asked about the situation in Manipur, he told reporters that, “The Army, Assam Rifles were deployed in Manipur before 2020. Since the challenges of the northern borders were far more, we were able to withdraw the Army. Since the insurgency situation had normalised, we were able to do that.”

The situation now in Manipur is “not related to insurgency”. It is a clash between two ethnicities and a situation of law and order, he said. “We are helping the state government with the problem,” the CDS said.

“I would like to say that the armed forces and Assam Rifles have done an excellent job there and may have saved a large number of lives. Though the challenges in Manipur have not disappeared, it will take some time. Hopefully, this will settle and the government there will be able to do the job with the help of CAPF (Central Armed Police Forces) etc,” he said.

Manipur Riots

The state witnessed a sudden spurt in clashes and firing between militants and security forces on Sunday, after a relative lull for over a fortnight. The death toll from clashes has gone up to 80, officials said. The ethnic violence first broke out after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts on May 3 to protest the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

The violence was preceded by tension over the eviction of Kuki villagers from reserve forest land, which had led to a series of smaller agitations.