Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday asked why is there no G20 event being held in Manipur after it is claimed that the northeastern state is returning to normalcy. Referring to the May 4 incident where a group of men paraded two women naked in broad daylight, Yadav asked why would the state in the northeast be left out from G20 events while the country aspires to become one of the developed nations. Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav. (HT file)(HT_PRINT)

“If the BJP wants to take advantage of these events, the party should sponsor them. Why is the government, why are the taxpayers sponsoring it? The government is saying the situation is all okay in Manipur, then they should hold a G20 event in Manipur,” the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said at Aaj Tak G20 Summit, adding that there is no problem that such events being held in states such as Delhi or Uttar Pradesh, ‘but Manipur is a big issue right now’.

Yadav further responded to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well well Bharatiya Janta Party's remark at the I.N.D.I.A. bloc where they called the coalition ‘ghamandiya’ (filled with arrogance), and referred them arrogant instead. “Those who call I.N.D.I.A. ghamandiya, are themselves arrogant."

Manipur has been hit by ethnic violence since May 3, with latest being an incident where three members from the Kuki community in the state were gunned down by armed miscreants. Earlier, five persons, three from Meitei community and two from Kuki, were killed in separate incidents of shooting between the two communities at Bishnupur and Churachandpur districts.

The violence erupted in the state following protests from Kuki groups against a proposed modification to the state's reservation matrix, allowing Meitei community to hold the Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. Meiteis account for nearly 53% of the state population while Kukis comprise around 16%.

Violence quickly engulfed the state where ethnic fault lines run deep, displacing tens of thousands of people who fled burning homes and neighbourhoods into jungles, often across state borders.

The clashes have claimed over 160 lives and displaced around 50,000.