Sharad Pawar to skip all-party meeting called by Amit Shah on Manipur

Sharad Pawar expressed his desire to attend the meeting to discuss Manipur violence but due to some important prior commitments, he has designated other leaders to attend the meeting

Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Friday expressed his inability to attend the all-party meeting which will be chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the Manipur situation.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will convene an all-party meeting on June 24 in the national capital to discuss the situation in Manipur, Home Ministry Spokesperson said.

The meeting is scheduled at 3 pm in New Delhi to discuss the situation in Manipur.

As Manipur is still witnessing incidents like arson, the state government has extended the ban on the internet by five more days till June 25 with immediate effect in an effort to prevent further disturbance to peace.

The data services have also been banned in view of the persisting unrest in the state.

Sharad Pawar expressed his desire to attend the meeting to discuss Manipur violence but due to some important prior commitments, he has designated Narendra Verma, National General Secretary, NCP, and Soran lboyaima Singh, President, Manipur State NCP, to attend the meeting.

"I am in receipt of your letter dated 22nd June 2023, regarding the meeting of the Union home minister with various political parties, on June 24, 2023, to discuss the situation in Manipur. Although I wanted to attend this meeting, however, due to some important prior commitments, it would not be possible for me to do so, Shri Narendra Verma, National General Secretary, NCP and Shri Soran lboyaima Singh, President, Manipur State NCP, will represent Nationalist Congress Party in this meeting," Pawar said in a letter to Union MoS for Home Nityanand Rai.

Meanwhile, Congress leader KC Venugopal also came down heavily on PM Modi over his silence on the situation in Manipur.

"For the last 53 days, Manipur is burning. PM Modi has not uttered a single word yet. A delegation from Manipur was here for the last 10 days but the PM was not ready to meet them," Venugopal claimed

Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi said that the unprecedented violence that has devastated the lives of people in Manipur has "left a deep wound in the conscience of our nation" while appealing for peace and harmony in the state.

Violence gripped Manipur on May 3 after clashes erupted during a rally organised by the All Tribals Students Union (ATSU) to protest the demand for the inclusion of Meiteis in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) list.