STRASBOURG: The European Union parliament has called on India to take practical steps to end violence and protect minorities in violence-hit Manipur, criticizing the Hindu “nationalistic rhetoric” it said was adding to tensions, Western media reported on Thursday.
EU and India: MP has called Modi’s invitation to the parade in Paris “an insult to minorities in India”
The resolution came as India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi started a two-day visit to France. MEPs expressed deep concern over the recent violent clashes between two ethnic groups in the troubled Manipur region. The EU parliament noted that as many as 120 people were killed, and more than 50,000 displaced while 250 churches were destroyed by the attackers in Manipur.
The parliament approved a resolution on Thursday asking New Delhi to “promptly stop the religious and ethnic violence and to protect all minorities in the state of Manipur”.
The motion noted that “prejudice towards minorities has contributed to the recent wave of violence and that there have been concerns regarding politically motivated, troublesome policies that promote Hindu majoritarianism in the violence-hit region.”
The resolution said, “The government in the region has also shut down the internet and severely hindered reporting by the news outlets, while security personnel have been implicated in the recent killings, something that has further increased doubt in the authorities,”.
The EU parliament called for independent probes and a lifting of internet closures.
MEP Pierre Larrouturou, said the government of Modi’s BJP in Manipur was “fanning the fires of conflict”. He further added, “By allowing the armed forces to open fire on the civilian population and cutting off Internet, the BJP is exploiting the violence in the region to further discriminate against non-Hindu population”.
Larrouturou called Modi’s invitation to the parade in Paris “an insult not only to India’s minority communities, human rights defenders, and journalists but also to India as a democracy”.
