Imphal (Agency): Manipur continues to be tense ahead of Lok Sabha Elections 2024. The administration in the state is awaiting the surrender of 12,000 weapons before voting.
According to a top official, out of 24,000 licensed weapons, which are mainly old, only 50% have been surrendered. During elections, all gun licence holders are bound to surrender their weapons for peaceful, free, and fair elections.
However, these 12,000 weapons are not a significant worry, as the bigger concerns are with the weapons stolen during clashes between the Kukis and Meitei. An official told News18 that these licensed weapons are not very sophisticated and are also very old.
On the other hand, stolen weapons are highly sophisticated, including the latest AK series weapons, which are missing. Apart from weapons, a large amount of ammunition has also been missing since last year.
Importantly, Manipur, which has seen the deployment of over 200 companies solely for election purposes, may not see any campaign by star leaders from any political party. While opposition parties had made it tough for the government to run Parliament over Manipur situation, the fact is that no big leader has planned any campaign in Manipur.
According to sources, no leader has planned any campaign rally in Manipur so far. No leader has informed the concerned authorities about the campaign, which would be tough to plan considering the situation.
Meanwhile, to address the issues of displaced persons, it has been decided that special arrangements will be made to enable them to vote. It is being said that special camps will be set up outside the relief camps to enable displaced voters in Manipur to cast their votes. Lok Sabha Elections are scheduled in two phases on April 19 and 26 in Manipur. Women have outnumbered men in terms of the number of voters in the state.
The hill state has witnessed sporadic, sometimes intense, ethnic clashes since May 3 last year between the majority Meitei community and the Kukis, resulting in the loss of over 200 lives. While Meiteis have concentrated in Imphal city, the Kukis have moved to the hills. The state has traditionally seen a high voter turnout, with more than 82 percent polling recorded in the 2019 general elections. However, ethnic violence has cast a shadow on the polls this time, with several civil society groups and affected people questioning its relevance under the current circumstances. There have also been calls from several quarters for boycotting the polls.
Prime Minister Modi, in an interview with the Assam Tribune, has said it is a “collective responsibility to deal with the situation sensitively.” “I have already spoken about this in Parliament. We’ve dedicated our best resources and administrative machinery to resolving the conflict. Because of the timely intervention of the Government of India and efforts made by the state government, there has been a marked improvement in the situation of the state,” he told the newspaper. He said Home Minister Amit Shah stayed in Manipur while the conflict was at its peak, holding more than 15 meetings with different stakeholders to help resolve the conflict.
(courtesy: News18)
