FIRs lodged against EGI team ; Govt has proof of how violence started: CM
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, September 04 2023: Taking strong exception to the report of Editors Guild of India (EGI) fact-finding committee on Manipur violence, Chief Minister N Biren Singh has conveyed that the State Government has lodged an FIR against the EGI for their 'one sided narration' .

He also said that the report of EGI not only misled the State Government and the Meiteis but also can escalate the violence.

Addressing the media at the Durbar Hall of the CM's Secretariat today, N Biren continued that Union Home Minister Amit Shah had already spoken in the Parlia- ment about the complexity of the present crisis in the State.

FIRs lodged against EGI team ; Govt has proof of how violence started: CM

Saying that the State Government and the people of Manipur strongly condemned the report of the fact finding team and the observation they made on Manipur violence without understanding the history of Manipur and the provisions of the Forest Act, N Biren added that the conduct of the EGI team will fuel the violence to linger on.

The Chief Minister further stated that the Govern- ment takes the erroneous and nonsensical report of the EGI fact finding team very seriously as they have blamed the Government and the Meiteis for the violence without any evidence.

At first, the Government considered the EGI team who came to study the ground report of Manipur violence as a group of intellectuals and academicians but they turned out to be 'sold-out' .

N Biren claimed that the Government has found some documents of EGI seeking donations too.

Claiming that the EGI submitting a biased report without understanding the ground reality and the plight of the people is rather unfortunate, the Chief Minister said that the Government has proof of how the violence started in the first place.

Saying that different committees are investigating the crisis in Manipur under the supervision of the Supreme Court and the Centre, he said that the State Government chose to remain silent as far as possible as investigations are underway to find out the root cause of the violence.

The conduct of EGI is sub-judice and it seems like they want the violence to continue, he claimed.

N Biren also asked how much do the members of the EGI fact-finding team know about the history of Manipur and the complexity of the ongoing crisis.

Continuing that the EGI giving judgment on Manipur violence is illogical as several Government and the Supreme Court constituted committees are investigating the root cause of the crisis, the Chief Minister reiterated that the Government has lodged an FIR against the members of EGI fact-finding team viz; Seema Guha, Sanjay Kapoor, Bharat Bhusan and the president of the Editors Guild of India in connection with their report.

Let the committee headed by retired Chief Justice conclude their investigation on Manipur violence first, he added.

The violence began from 10.38 am at Churachandpur on May 3 and the EGI team doesn't know it, N Biren claimed and added that Government has the evidence of how the violence broke out.

It is embarrassing that the members of the influential EGI don't even know the provisions under which reserved and protected forest areas are declared, the Chief Minister continued and asked what kind of Editors were they who probed the violence in Manipur and submitted a nonsensical report.

Saying that reserved and protected forests come under the Central Government and the State Government cannot do anything on these areas without the approval of the Centre, N Biren said that the EGI making a one-sided judgment without even understanding the provisions of the Forest Act is very wrong.

On eviction, the Chief Minister said that the EGI blaming the Government for targeting a particular community was the handiwork of those who want to disintegrate Manipur.

Saying that 413 structures were dismantled from the reserved forests in the 2015-2023 period of which only 59 belonged to Kuki people, N Biren maintained that 143 houses of Meiteis, 137 of Meitei Pangals, 38 of Nagas and 36 houses of Nepalis were evicted from the reserved forest areas in the same period and the same is properly documented.

The Chief Minister went on to state that the Government initiated the eviction drive to save the future generation, environment, reduce the impact of global warming and check poppy plantations in the larger interest of the State and the Nation.

Saying that the Government would have banned the EGI team from entering Manipur had they known the motive of the guild in advance, N Biren continued that the members of the EGI fact finding team are anti-Nation, anti-establishment and communal who want the violence to persist.

The EGI even depicted the torching of Forest office by Kuki militants at Churachandpur on May 3 as Meiteis burning down a Kuki house and it was a serious blunder though they clarified later, the Chief Minister pointed out and added that the Government will give all the details and the proofs on how the violence started in the first place if they (the EGI) genuinely want to know the root-cause of the violence which started at Churachandpur.

There are separate intelligence teams of the Centre and the State and they have the photo and video evidence of the initial stage of the violence at Churachandpur, the Chief Minister continued and added that the Government will not accept any undertaking which aims to depict a particular community as the aggressor and the other as the sole victim based on hearsay.

Saying that it was the Meiteis who clothed and rescued the two Kuki women who were paraded naked by a mob in the peak of ethnic-conflict, N Biren asked why didn't the EGI mention the humanity shown in rescuing the Kuki women in its report.

He also asked why the Congress party didn't talk about how the two Kuki women were rescued from the mob in the Parliament.

The Chief Minister further said that the Government had lodged a police complaint against the CPI team who visited Manipur recently for putting the entire blame for the violence on the Meiteis and the State Government.

Saying that there are certain classified developments too which cannot be made public, he appealed to one and all to stop politicising the issue.

The elected representatives have taken an oath to keep certain things confidential in the larger interest of the State and the country, he said and appealed to all the people of Manipur to exercise restraint.

Stating that Kuki militants putting pressure on the Tamils at Moreh by demanding money is truly unfortunate, N Biren said that no groups will be allowed to attack or threaten to drive away Tamils from the border town.

Tight security measures will be taken up for the safety of the Tamils at Moreh, he assured.

Saying that Keikhalal Haokip, the spokesperson of Kuki Inpi from Tengnoupal who put a restriction on Meiteis from entering Moreh is someone who doesn't know the history of Manipur, he appealed to all concerned to stop imposing self made rules to the people at the earliest.

He further said that the Government won't allow some group of people putting restrictions on Meiteis from entering Moreh and asked the Kuki Inpi to not threaten the people furthermore.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister said that identification of illegal immigrants is still underway and the State Government has sought more time from the Centre to complete the collection of biometrics data.

He also said that War on Drug campaign of the State being carried out as a part of Nisha Mukt Bharat programme of the Prime Minister will be intensified in the hill districts with the use of Central security forces.

To a query, N Biren responded that Nectar Sanjenbam was appointed as special Superintendent of Police under a certain policy to give physical training to the State police personnel.

Saying that about 300 State police personnel are currently at Moreh, the Chief Minister said that more teams will be sent to the border town if the need arises and no one can stop it.