Manipur: Union min meets archbishop

Thrissur: Union minister of state for external affairs and education Rajkumar Ranjan Singh on Saturday met Thrissur archbishop Andrews Thazhath, who is also the president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India.Singh—who is from Manipur and whose house in Imphal was attacked by a mob about three weeks ago---met the CBCI president as part of the BJP government’s efforts to address the growing anger among the Christian community following the violence in Manipur.Talking to the media after the meeting, the minister said it was incorrect to describe the unrest in Manipur as an attack against Christians. Hindu temples are also being attacked in Manipur. It is not a clash between Hindus and Christians, he said, adding that insurgents, with the support of foreign powers, are behind the violence in the state. The central and state governments are making all-out efforts to bring peace in Manipur, the minister said. The archbishop reportedly expressed concerns over the violence in Manipur and particularly about the attack on Christian institutions. He wanted the Army to be deployed to curb violence to which the minister replied that paramilitary forces have already been deployed.Singh, who was accompanied by BJP leaders including advocate B Gopalakrishnan and A Nagesh, said he was satisfied with the talks with the archbishop, who had earlier stated that it was unfortunate that peace did not return to Manipur even after the visit of home minister Amit Shah. The archbishop did not talk with the media after the meeting with the minister. The minister criticised the statement by AICC general secretary K C Venugopal that BJP was reaping the harvest of what it had sowed. He said: “It was Congress which had sowed the seeds of unrest in Manipur. It was ruling the state for long, and it had precipitated unrest among the people through its misrule, corruption and developmental discrimination among various sections and regions.’’