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Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived in Manipur on Monday on a three-day visit, his first since the violence broke out on May 3.
A senior government official said the Home Minister, whose flight landed in Imphal late in the evening, would hold several rounds of security meetings to assess the situation and plan steps to restore normalcy.
On his arrival, Mr. Shah met Chief Minister N. Biren Singh and other Ministers. He was accompanied by Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla and Intelligence Bureau Director Tapan Kumar Deka. He later held a meeting with Governor Anusuiya Uikey in Imphal.
During his stay, Mr. Shah is likely to travel to Churachandpur, Kangkokpi and Moreh — some of the areas most affected in the ongoing violence. He would also meet civil society organisations representing the Meitei, Kuki-Zo and the Nagas.
The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), a Meitei outfit, said in a statement that Mr. Shah’s visit was a positive step towards restoring peace in the State. “We are speaking for everyone, including the Kukis. We are for the unity of Manipur but we are against the Kuki militants. We are likely to meet the Home Minister on Tuesday,” Jeetendra Nimgonba, coordinator, COCOMI, said.
The COCOMI (and other Imphal-based organisations) stressed the need to take action against poppy growers and drug dealers in the hills surrounding the Imphal Valley. “The people of Manipur will not be able to come to any solution unless the State and Central governments take immediate actions to uproot these narco-terrorist aggressors,” it said.
The United People’s Front (UPF) and Kuki National Organisation (KNO), Kuki militant organisations that are in a suspension of operations pact with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Manipur government, said the Home Minister’s visit has given a sense of security among the Kuki-Zo tribe.
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