Congress: ‘bulldozing’ indigenous rights by BJP raised tensions

New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday blamed the BJP for the violence in Manipur and accused the ruling party of “bulldozing” the rights of local communities.
The situation in BJP-ruled Manipur is disturbing. Violence is not the solution to any problem. Kharge said on Twitter that law and order in the state has been completely derailed under the double-engine government.
“BJP is ready to trample and suppress the rights of vulnerable indigenous communities. We strongly condemn it,” the Congress chief added.

Fresh clashes broke out between protesters and police in the town of Churachandpur on Friday night, with security forces using batons, tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd.
Locals claimed that some people were killed and many injured in the police action, hours after the bandh called by the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) ended. However, there was no official confirmation of people being killed or injured.

Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said, “BJP’s real face is now visible in Manipur”.
“While Modi’s entire team is focused on Karnataka, Churachandpur in Manipur has almost turned into a war zone just a year after the BJP won a decisive majority in the state. The double engine over there is blowing up,” Ramesh said on Twitter, alleging that the central government was not paying attention.
The situation in Churachandpur remained critical as unidentified miscreants set fire to a government building, even as a night curfew was imposed in the district from Saturday, officials said.

A group of people set fire to the office of the Range Forest Officer in Tuibong area around midnight and several fire tenders were deployed to douse the fire, he said.
Government property worth lakhs of rupees was allegedly destroyed and government documents burnt in the fire, a police officer said.

According to an official notification, night curfew has been imposed in the district from 5 pm to 5 am till further orders.