PNS|Hyderabad
Planning Commission Vice Chairman Boinapally Vinod Kumar attended on behalf of the BRS an all-party meeting held at the Parliament Library Building in New Delhi on Saturday under the chairmanship of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
“We said banning the Internet for 50 days is not good. Students, youth and other services will be disrupted. We had requested to restore Internet services. Even though this has happened, the Prime Minister has not responded so far. We said that this is not a good practice,” Vinod said.
“During the Telangana movement when they were in New Delhi, political parties and associations of North Eastern states used to meet us. We have some knowledge on this topic. It is unfortunate that even after 75 years of Independence, there are still clashes between castes, religions and races. We said at the all-party meeting that all political parties have a responsibility to provide confidence to the people of Manipur,” he said.
“In Manipur, Kukis and Nagas live in the hills. They constitute 40% of the population. Christians are minorities. Meiteis live in the plains. They are almost 50% and are Hindus. Although the reasons are unknown, there is an atmosphere of conflict since the 1990s. Meitheis are demanding that they should be considered STs like Kukis and Nagas. The Parliament has the right to include anyone in the ST list. But the Manipur High Court has given a verdict to include Meiteis in the STs’ list within four weeks. This goes against the Constitution,” Vinod said.
“Even the Supreme Court did not intervene. It is reported that such incidents would not have happened if a stay had been granted. 4,000 weapons were carried away by the Meiteis. It is said that Central forces have been deployed. So they should disarm both groups.
The rainy season is coming in Manipur now and there will be heavy rains for two months. Many houses were destroyed due to clashes. Thousands have been displaced. The Centre should immediately rehabilitate them,” he added.
“13 years ago, when a similar situation arose in Kashmir, an all-party meeting was held under the leadership of then Home Minister Chidambaram. On behalf of my party, I attended the meeting and gave suggestions. All parties were taken for a tour of the field. They said that they will accept suggestions made in today’s meeting,” Vinod said.
