The North East Students’ Organization (NESO) on Wednesday organised a candlelight vigil in all state capitals of the region to appeal for peace to prevail in the violence-hit Manipur.
The North East Students’ Organization (NESO) has asked if the Government of India has a “hidden agenda” by allowing the ongoing violence to continue in the state of Manipur.
Speaking to reporters during the candlelight vigil organized in collaboration with the Khasi Students Union (KSU) at Khyndailad here, NESO chairman Samuel B Jyrwa said, “If the violence is not stopped at this very moment, it shows that the government of India has a hidden agenda behind allowing this violence to continue in the state of Manipur.”
“Well we don’t know what will be the hidden agenda but there may be some designs by the outside forces inimical to the interest of the indigenous peoples of the different states of the NE region,” he said.
Jyrwa said, “Both the state and the Centre has failed in their fight against this violence and the government of India without imposing the President’s Rule, they have more than 50,000 troops in the state of Manipur, this should have been sufficient enough to control the violence if they really wanted to.”
He said this has raised a serious question about the capability of the armed forces in maintaining peace in the state of Manipur.
Jyrwa also said, “It is very surprising and shocking that the Prime Minister of the country who used to be very active in commenting on any issues affecting the different states of the country is still silent till today even after nearly two months that this mayhem have occurred in the state of Manipur.”
“And we urged and we called upon the Prime Minister of India to speak on this issue and to take proactive measures in order to stop the violence and to resolve the issues which may arise out of this problem,” he added.
The NESO chief said the candlelight vigil is observed in all the state capitals of the North East region including Tura, which is hosted by the Garo Students Union to call for peace in Manipur and to stop violence activities in Manipur.
Jyrwa informed that the NESO team will shortly be visiting the state of Manipur and will be meeting leaders from both the Meitei and Kuki organizations.
“We believe through our interaction with them, we would be able to bring some sort of semblance of peace in the state of Manipur,” he added.