New Delhi: Fresh violence was seen in parts of Manipur, once again, including acts of arson, mob attacks and firing.Congress veteran P. Chidambaram said that not a single question on the violence in Manipur had been admitted and answered in the ongoing Monsoon Session of the parliament.Hindustan Times has reported that Chidambaram spoke on this in the Rajya Sabha on July 26, Wednesday. He said that he had asked the Parliamentary Research and Information Support for Members of Parliament (Prism), which of the questions on Manipur had been admitted and answered.“The answer shocked me. Not one question has been admitted or answered on the subject. The subject is Manipur,” he said.Union minister Piyush Goyal, who is also the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s leader of the house in the Rajya Sabha, did not address the issue but said that Chidambaram should apologise for dragging the Chairman of the House (Jagdeep Dhankhar) into a “controversy.”More violenceThe Tribune has reported how a 2,000-strong mob has torched 30 houses – all uninhabited at that point – and demolished several others in the India-Myanmar border town of Moreh.Times of India has further reported that this carnage lasted for two hours and that it led to a “heavy exchange of fire between armed groups and security forces.”Two buses coming from Dimapur, used by security forces to transport personnel, were also set on fire at Sapormeina in Kangpokpi district the previous day, July 25. The Hindu has reported that nine people, including a juvenile, were arrested for this.The Hindu has reported another incident which took place on July 25, in which armed people fired at civilians in the Heikol and Phougakchai Ikhai areas of Bishnupur district, injuring three.HC Chief Justice appointmentThe government of Manipur chief minister N. Biren Singh has sat on the Union government’s correspondence for 20 days, thus delaying the appointment of a full time Chief Justice of the Manipur high court, the Hindustan Times has reported.The Supreme Court Collegium had made a recommendation for the post of the Manipur high court Chief Justice on July 5. “Of the seven recommendations, six have been notified by the Centre following the respective state governments’ clearance, leaving out only Manipur,” the report said.The Union law ministry’s July 7 letter to Manipur, seeking views on the appointment of Delhi high court judge Justice Siddharth Mridul as Chief Justice has not been responded to, the paper reported.Notably, it is an order by the active Chief Justice of the Manipur high court, to consider including the state’s majority Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribes list that led to an ethnic clash erupting in the state.
