Former Union Minister and Congress leader P. Chidambaram on Sunday accused the BJP government in Manipur of resorting to “ethnic cleansing” in the Imphal Valley and said nothing could be more “shameful” than this development.
Mr. Chidambaram cited The Hindu report about the remaining five Kuki families in Imphal being “forcibly removed” from their homes by the authorities.
“This means that ‘ethnic cleansing’ is complete in the Imphal Valley that is dominated by the Meitei people,” Mr. Chidambaram said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
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“A State government presides over ‘ethnic cleansing’ and the Central government claims that the government of the State is being carried on in accordance with the Constitution,” he added.
The senior Congress leader said that nothing could be more shameful than this development and noted, “It marks a new low in India’s descent into lawlessness”.
Since May 3, Manipur has been witnessing ethnic clashes between the majority Meitei community and the tribal Kuki community.
More than 160 people have lost their lives and thousands of families have been displaced since ethnic clashes broke out in the State after a Tribal Solidarity march turned violent over the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
While Meiteis account for about 53% of the State’s population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley, the Kukis and the Nagas make up a little over 40% and reside in the hill districts.
