India News | Apex Catholic Body in Kerala Urges Centre to Restore Peace in Strife-hit Manipur

Kochi, May 6 (PTI) Kerala Catholic Bishop Council, the apex body of the Catholic Church in the state, on Saturday strongly condemned the ethnic violence in Manipur and urged the BJP-led Union government to take necessary steps to restore peace in the northeastern state.

The disturbance going on in Manipur for the past few days is causing a lot of concern, the KCBC said in a statement here.

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It is "highly condemnable" that the people of the state are attacking each other as two groups and set on fire institutions, houses and places of worship, it said.

Whatever be the reason that has led to the conflict, immediate action should be taken by the central government to end the tension and loss of life, KCBC President Cardinal Baselios Cleemis said.

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The Centre, which describes India as the 'mother of democracy', should take appropriate measures to end communal violence and restore peace, he said.

Cleemis, in the statement, also urged political parties to come forward strongly to end violence by realising the fact that communal politics is the end of democracy.

The death toll in the ethnic violence which has engulfed Manipur increased to 54, officials said on Saturday. However, unofficially sources placed the death toll at over a hundred and the number of injured at nearly 200.

Violence first erupted in Torbung area in Churachandpur district during the 'Tribal Solidarity March' organised by the All Tribal Student Union Manipur (ATSUM) on Wednesday to protest the demand of Meiteis for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

The march was organised by tribals after the Manipur High Court asked the state government last month to send a recommendation to the Centre within four weeks on the demand for ST status by the Metei community.

During the march in Torbung, an armed mob allegedly attacked people of the Meitei community, leading to retaliatory attacks in the valley districts, which escalated the violence throughout the state, police said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)