28 months after ethnic clashes: Will PM Modi combine his Mizoram trip with a stop in Manipur?

PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Manipur in the second week of September, the first time in 28 months after the north-eastern state witnessed violence between tribes, according to a report in CNN-News18.

CNN-News18 quoting sources reported that the visit is expected to coincide with his scheduled programme in Mizoram on September 13, where he will inaugurate a new railway line.

On July 30, Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said in Lok Sabha that no deaths due to violence have been reported in Manipur in the last four months. He said only one person was killed in an incident in the past eight months.

According to the report, Manipur leg is still under discussion and could take place either on September 12 or 13. “The Mizoram programme is confirmed. The Manipur part is still being considered," the report said quoting a senior official.

Meanwhile, security forces in Manipur arrested six militants belonging to different banned outfits in a series of operations across multiple districts, police said on Sunday. According to PTI, on Friday, four cadres of the banned People’s Liberation Army (PLA) were arrested near the Myanmar border in Tengnoupal district. They were identified as Chabungbam Nanaocha Meetei (21), Waikhom Thoi Meitei (30), Ningthoujam Rakesh (25), and Tekcham Nanao Singh (25).

The Delhi Meetei Coordinating Committee (DMCC) on Friday raised objections to a recent report published by the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), claiming that it presented a one-sided account of the Manipur conflict while overlooking the experiences of the Meetei community.

In August, the Rajya Sabha, in August, cleared a statutory resolution extending President’s rule in Manipur for another six months. The Lok Sabha had passed the resolution earlier. The resolution was passed amid protests by Opposition members who were demanding a discussion on the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.