The Central Government, which was quick to pledge its support to Israel following the Palestine crisis, chose not to respond to the killings in Manipur for months together, said Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday.
Speaking after releasing the book ‘Manipur FIR’ authored by journalist George Kallivayal in Kochi on Sunday, Mr. Vijayan said Prime Minister Narendra Modi took 80 days to respond to the Manipur crisis. The Centre and the Union Ministers too maintained a studied silence on the issue. The mainstream media, which is extensively covering the Palestine crisis, didn’t heed much attention to the brutal killings and violence in Manipur, he said.
The authorities, which didn’t act against the predators of violence in the hill state, booked cases against those who exposed the injustice and inhuman activities that took place in the northeastern State through videos and news reports. The authorities even booked cases against a fact-finding team from the Editors’ Guild of India, which toured the State following the violence. Eventually, it required the intervention of the Supreme Court to stay the proceedings against the team, Mr. Vijayan said.
Going by the official figures, 200 persons lost their lives and around 1000 persons were injured and over 5000 houses destroyed in the violent incidents. The real damage and extent of death and destruction in the riots, which extended well over six months, would be much higher, he said.
Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala received the first copy of the book. State Industries Minister P. Rajeeve, Kochi Mayor M. Anilkumar, Hibi Eden, MP, and former Minister K.V. Thomas attended the event.
