GUWAHATI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah cancelled his planned election rallies in Maharashtra on Sunday, November 17, as he returned to Delhi to address the ongoing crisis in Manipur.
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Shah, who was scheduled to lead BJP's campaign in poll-bound Maharashtra, cut short his trip after receiving updates about the worsening situation, and is now expected to convene a high-level meeting in Delhi to review the volatile conditions and discuss measures to restore normalcy. According to sources, a central team may be dispatched to Manipur at the earliest, to assist the State government in managing the unrest.
The northeastern state has been gripped by recent violence, with angry mobs torching the homes of four more legislators, including a senior BJP minister and a Congress MLA, on Saturday night. Triggered by the recent killing of three women and three children by militants in Jiribam district, this chaos has spread towards Imphal, turning the capital into a flashpoint.
Protesters have vented their anger by attacking the residences of politicians, accusing them of failing to protect civilians. The latest incidents targeted the homes of Public Works Department Minister Govindas Konthoujam in Ningthoukhong, BJP MLAs Y. Radheshyam (Hiyanglam) and Paonam Brojen (Wangjing Tentha) in Thoubal district, and Congress MLA Th. Lokeshwar (Khundrakpam) in Imphal East.
Earlier in the day, mobs had also attempted to storm the ancestral residence of Chief Minister Biren Singh, but security forces dispersed them using tear gas and blank fire.
For the moment, the State government has imposed an indefinite curfew in Imphal West and suspended internet services in seven districts to prevent the spread of inflammatory content.
More updates are to follow as the situation unfolds.