After the passing of the Waqf Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha, Manipur was discussed at midnight, and the House approved the President’s rule in Manipur. During this, Manipur was discussed in the Lok Sabha for about two hours. All the members beyond the party line supported this decision but criticized the Center for the situation in the state.Responding to a brief debate, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the government has taken all possible steps to bring back normalcy in the troubled northeastern state. He said that there has been no violence in Manipur in the last four months. He also mentioned that talks are going on with both the Meitei and Kuki communities for a peaceful solution. “Overall, the situation is peaceful. As long as people are in camps, I will not say that the situation is satisfactory. The government is taking all possible steps to restore peace in Manipur”. The Home Minister said that ethnic violence in Manipur started after the order of the High Court of the state.He said, “The day the order came, we sent central forces by air. There was no delay from our side (in taking action).” He said that so far 260 people have died in the violence that started in May 2023, and 80 percent of them lost their lives in the first month itself. Shah said that he did not want to compare the violence during the tenure of previous governments but wanted to tell the House about the clashes between the Naga and Kuki communities in five years in the 1990s. He said, “Sporadic violence continued for a decade, in which 750 people lost their lives. There were Kuki-Paite clashes in 1997-98, in which 352 people were killed. More than 100 people were killed in Meitei-Pangal clashes in the 1990s. Neither the then prime minister nor the then home minister visited Manipur.” The home minister said an impression has been created that violence erupted only during the BJP rule, which is not correct.Earlier, participating in the debate, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said his party supports the resolution but wants peace and stability to be restored in the state. “End insurgency, restore peace and stability, promote dialogue with each other, and promote inclusiveness,” he said. TMC’s Sayani Ghosh said her party also supports the resolution but is in favor of early restoration of peace.DMK’s K. Kanimozhi said “divisive” politics in Manipur must end. “We want normalcy to return, peace and harmony to be restored. We also want an elected government to be formed,” she said. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant expressed concern over the current situation in Manipur and said peace must be restored. NCP (SCP) member Supriya Sule said President’s rule was not good for democracy and demanded “strong intervention” from the Home Minister in bringing back normalcy. The resolution ‘Consideration of the proclamation issued by the President on February 13, 2025, in respect of the State of Manipur under Article 356 (1) of the Constitution’ was passed by the House by voice vote.Talking on this topic, Deepak Mishra, a political analyst at Santino PR Media Ltd., said, “Manipur has been in a vulnerable condition for a long time, and imposing president’s rule is not a solution but a temporary halt. Government needs to take effective measures to control the violence in the state without hampering the rights of any community. It is important for India to establish internal peace and security. then only can it focus on external threats.”
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