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"There can be no solution if you pick up arms"
NEW DELHI — Union minister Kiren Rijiju requested the people of ethnic violence-hit Manipur on Saturday to shun arms and come to the negotiation table to find a lasting solution for peace in the state.
Addressing the North East Students' Festival organised by NGO "My Home India", Rijiju said the northeast is witnessing unprecedented development under the Narendra Modi government, providing a golden opportunity to the people of the region.
"I urge the brothers and sisters of the Kuki and the Meitei communities, the Government of India is ready to make every effort, but you will have to give up arms. There can be no solution if you pick up arms," he said.
"Any solution can be found only through talks. Come what may, you cannot fight each other. If you talk to each other, come to the negotiation table, only then can we have lasting peace," the minister for parliamentary affairs and minority affairs said.
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Ethnic violence has been going on in Manipur since May 3 last year, after a tribal solidarity march was taken out in the hill districts of the northeastern state to protest against the majority Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
More than 220 people, including members of both the Kuki and Meitei communities and security personnel, have been killed in the continuing violence.
Rijiju said the northeastern region has witnessed development in the last 10 years like never before.
"This is a golden opportunity available to all of us. In such a time, the people of Manipur have to give up violence and move ahead to find solutions through talks," he said.