THIRUVANTHAPURAM (Kerala): Hitting out at the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) over the Manipur violence, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday said all secular-minded people in the country should rise against the Sangh Parivar’s agenda to turn the restive Northeast state into a ‘land of riots’.
A press statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) quoted Vijayan as saying, “The country’s secular community should recognize the Sangh Parivar agenda, which is spreading hatred and turning Manipur into a land of riots for the sake of power politics.”
The CM stated further that it was only prudent to view the ethnic clashes in Manipur, which have been ongoing for more than two months, ‘with dread’ as the “human conscience is still plagued by horrible events”.
“The ethnic riots that have been going on for more than two months can only be looked at with apprehension. Horrible scenes continue to haunt the human conscience. The women of the Kuki community were hunted down by mob rioters in a most despicable and brutal manner. The video released is from days right after the start of the riots,” the Kerala CM was quoted as saying further in the official statement.
The CM claimed further that the people in Manipur’s hills and the valley, who have historical differences, are being pulled further apart by stoking a communal fire.
“Historical differences between the hill and valley dwellers of Manipur are fueled by fueling the fire communally. It is clear that a planned Christian hunt is taking place under the guise of riots. Christian churches of tribal groups are systematically attacked and destroyed,” the Kerala CM added in his statement.
He claimed further that the “very people, whose mandate it is to restore peace, are trying to incite riots”, criticising the central government’s ‘criminal silence’ on the Manipur issue.
“It is the duty of those who believe in democracy to resist and defeat the planned efforts to strengthen communal polarisation,” CM Vijayan added in the official statement. (ANI)