Sharply reacting against the abduction of three Meitei youths and holding two as hostage to raise demands on the government, Lok Sabha MP Angomcha Bimol Akoijam called the move an “act of terror” on Sunday.
Taking to X, Bimol Akoijam posted, “Holding innocent citizens as hostages and making them appeal via the media to fulfill the demand(s) of the abductors is an act of terror. It’s a part of the same violence that has been used as a means to press for demands, political or otherwise, in Manipur since May 2023.
The state should show that it’s not complicit in this protracted violence by acting against such terror tactics. Rescuing the two innocent citizens who are being held hostage is the sole responsibility of the State. Too many precious lives have been used as sacrificial lambs in this murky political maneuver since last year. It’s better late than never, act now!”
He further posted in a reply to the original post which read, “Holding innocent citizens as hostages and making them appeal via the media to fulfill the demand(s) of the abductors is an act of terror. Has this kind of holding hostage and making them appeal happened in this crisis? To the best of my knowledge; NO! Too many precious lives have been used as sacrificial lambs in this murky political maneuver since last year. Only a communal bigotry would think these lives refer to only a given community.
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The state should show that it’s not complicit in this protracted violence ... It’s better late than never, act now! Is this observation about the state or a community? Btw, I didn’t name the community for two reasons, (1) to avoid helping those communal forces and their mentors who want to polarize the society in pursuance of ‘divide and rule’ to facilitate communally rooted political demands and (2) to avoid the embarrassment of the “U-turn” of Intel report and uncertainty over how come one was rescued and two weren’t (especially assuming that the three had gone there).”
