• Trinamool Congress delegation's Manipur visit postponed to July 19 amid violence

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    Trinamool Congress delegation's Manipur visit postponed to July 19 amid violence
    Shashi Panja, a top TMC official and a minister for West Bengal, said the Manipur government's appeal led the party to decide to postpone the visit by a few days.

    Digital Desk: Following a request from the government of the northeastern state, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) announced on Thursday that it had decided to postpone a planned visit by a party delegation to ethnically troubled Manipur to July 19.

    On July 14, a group made up of five members of the TMC was supposed to travel to Manipur to assist those in need.

    Shashi Panja, a top TMC official and a minister for West Bengal, said the Manipur government's appeal led the party to decide to postpone the visit by a few days.

    "The Manipur government requested a two- to three-day postponement, so our group of five will now visit the state on July 19 and 20 instead of the 14 and 15 previously planned. We both concurred on it," she said in a PTI video message.


    Since ethnic conflicts between the Meitei and Kuki groups in the northeastern state began on May 3, more than 150 people have died and others have been injured.

    The TMC group will include Lok Sabha members Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and Kalyan Banerjee as well as Rajya Sabha leader Derek O'Brien, Dola Sen, and Sushmita Dev.

    The BJP-led administrations at the Centre and in Manipur are accused by the TMC of fostering ethnic unrest through their "divisive" policies.

    The Meiteis comprise around 53% of Manipur's population and are primarily concentrated in the Imphal Valley, while the tribal population, which includes the Nagas and Kukis, makes up 40% and is mainly concentrated in the hill areas.