Mamata-TMC targets Centre over Delhi protest crackdown, asks why similar security was not deployed in Manipur

TMC MLA Kunal Ghosh, aligned with the party's Mamata Banerjee faction, questioned the huge deployment of security to quell anti-SIR protests in Delhi, asking why as many personnel were not deployed in Manipur that has been afflicted by ethnic violence for more than three years.

Responding to defence minister Rajnath Singh's accusation that the opposition was seeking a regime change along the lines of Bangladesh and using the energy of youth to spread "anarchy", Ghosh hit back, saying the deployment of security at strength against young protesters reflected the government's inability to answer their questions.

"We do not support anarchy. But when the new generation raises questions on an issue, it is your responsibility to convince them," the Mamata-TMC spokesperson said.

"You have so much police and paramilitary forces at your disposal. Why deploy them against the youth? You should have sent this many police and paramilitary to Manipur. If you had sent them to Manipur at the right time, the problem there would have been solved," he said.

Manipur's ethnic conflict between the valley-based Meitei and hill-based Kuki communities, which erupted in May 2023, has claimed at least 306 lives while several remain missing. Around 50 people have been killed in clashes between Kukis and Nagas in the state since February this year.

Ghosh's remarks came amid protests by opposition parties and youth groups in the national capital demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) had called for a 'Lehra Do Tiranga' march in central Delhi on Friday. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and student leader Neha Bora were among those detained by police ahead of the demonstration on Friday, while protesters gathered at Connaught Place and other locations amid heightened security.

The protesters have accused the Election Commission of arbitrary deletion of voters' names during the revision exercise, while the BJP has accused opposition parties of politicising the issue and attempting to create unrest.