“Come and hold talks. I urge both communities to sit with the Centre and talk to resolve the issue. We do not wish to change the demography. Violence is not a solution to any problem. I assure you that we will bring peace to the state. Politics should not be done on this issue,” Amit Shah said.

In the no-confidence motion debate, following Rahul Gandhi’s remarks, opposition leaders criticized the government’s management of the Manipur situation. Amit Shah, in response, appealed to them not to politicize the issue of ethnic violence prevailing in the state.

Shah additionally highlighted that the turmoil in Myanmar in 2021 had contributed to the ethnic conflict in Manipur. The political instability in the neighbouring country forced a significant number of refugees to escape into Manipur through an easily penetrable border.

According to Shah, the ruling by the High Court in February further exacerbated the situation, adding more intensity to the existing tensions.

“In 2021, the government changed in Myanmar and the military took over the governance there. The democratic government was toppled. Democratic Kuki Fund started demonstrating against the military there. Against the backdrop of their demonstration, the military started suppressing the community. Since there is no fencing there and we share an open border with Myanmar, people from the Kuki community came in large numbers in Mizoram and Manipur,” Shah said adding that the influx from the neighbouring country created “a feeling of insecurity” among the Meiteis.

He further said that the ruling of the Manipur High Court included people belonging to the Meitei community in the list of Scheduled Tribes (STs).

“On April 29, there was a rumour that the place where the refugees were residing, has been declared as a village which led to unrest in the valley. After this too, we ran campaigned and told people that there is nothing like that. Later, the ruling by Manipur High Court fuelled the fire. The court took up the petition suddenly without taking consent of the Central government and state government and ruled to include the Meitei community in the Tribal. Without any legal proceeding, the verdict was given. On May 3, the clashes erupted during a rally,” Shah said.