BJP Govt Siding With Meitei against Kuki; Modi Was Wrong Not to Reach Out and Heal: Gopal Pillai

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A former Home Secretary, who is an acknowledged expert on the North East and, in particular, Manipur, has said the BJP government’s strategy is to deliberately side with the Meitei against the Kuki in the now four month long crisis in Manipur. Mr Gopal Pillai says this is why Chief Minister Biren Singh, a Meitei, has not been replaced, despite his incompetence in restoring law and order and his unacceptability to the Kuki, who are 16 percent of the state’s population, and to 15 out of 32 BJP MLAs, including 8 who are Meitei. Mr Pillai added that the BJP strategy means that the Home Minister has placed the interests of his party’s politics ahead of the requirements of India’s constitution.
In an extensive interview to Karan Thapar for The Wire, Mr Pillai said Prime Minister Modi should have reached out to the different communities in Manipur in the early days of the crisis and certainly after it became clear that the Home Minister’s visit in early May had failed to resolve the crisis. Mr Pillai said Mr Modi should have provided a healing touch, adding this is what the “emotional” people of the state need. Mr Pillai said the PM could have done this by visiting the state or by calling key people to Delhi. Mr Pillai said by choosing not to do this the PM has made “the wrong call”.
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