New Delhi, Oct 10: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday asked why the Congress had not dismissed its MP from Manipur, Angomcha Bimol Akoijam, from the party after Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) dismissed him with immediate effect following an inquiry into allegations of sexual harassment.

Speaking to media, BJP leader Harsh Malhotra said Akoijam, a JNU professor and Congress MP, had brought disrepute to the teaching fraternity.

“Teachers and professors are not only supposed to impart education, but they are also required to teach morality and adhere to it themselves. Thirteen female students from JNU have levelled sexual harassment allegations against him, which a committee at the university investigated and found him guilty of, resulting in his dismissal from JNU,” Malhotra added.

He asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over the party’s response to the matter, alleging that Akoijam was close to him.

“I want to ask Rahul Gandhi through you, since Akoijam is considered very close to Rahul Gandhi and is his close aide then why hasn’t he been dismissed from the Congress party yet? How long will Rahul Gandhi’s double standards continue? Whenever someone from their own side is corrupt or guilty of misconduct, they maintain complete silence,” Malhotra said.

He added that women in Delhi wanted to know when Rahul Gandhi would take action against the MP and urged the Congress leader to address the issue personally.

Malhotra also criticised Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge over his remarks on the detention of protesters, citing incidents of police action during protests under previous Congress governments.

“If arrangements are made to stop aggressive protesters, they call it fear. I want to ask him: they (Congress) opened fire in the name of law and order!” Malhotra said, referring to the 1966 protest against cow slaughter outside Parliament.

He also cited the 1988 farmers’ protest on Janpath and protests related to the Ram temple movement in 1990 and 1993, alleging that authorities had used force, including cane-charges and tear gas, to control demonstrators.

Malhotra questioned the Congress over its protest at Jantar Mantar and demanded that its leaders explain why they were seeking the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.

Earlier on Saturday, Kharge criticised the Union government in a post on social media platform X, alleging that young people, students, lawyers, journalists, social activists, farmers’ union leaders, YouTubers and content creators questioning the government were being detained.

“Modi Govt has turned the ‘Mother of Democracy’ into a ‘Muzzled Democracy’! The cowardice of the BJP-RSS is on full display today,” the Congress President said.

Imphal, Oct 10: Three people, including a woman, were killed in fresh clashes between armed groups in Manipur’s Kamjong and Ukhrul districts in the past 24 hours, while Kamjong police station was reportedly set on fire, officials said on Saturday.

Meanwhile, police have dismissed reports and video circulating on social media that the Kamjong police station was burnt.

The violence also spread to parts of Kangpokpi district, where a heavy exchange of fire between armed groups was reported. Several houses were reportedly torched in the clashes, raising fresh concerns over the deteriorating security situation in the state.

A police official said that a 23-year-old man and a 42-year-old woman were killed in Chassad village in Kuki-majority Kamjong district, which is predominantly inhabited by the Naga community. The woman, identified as Domkhonei Touthang, a mother of five, sustained a gunshot wound near her neck on Friday night and died within minutes, the official said.

According to the official, her killing triggered an exchange of fire between armed Kuki and Naga groups, which continued into Saturday morning. The man, identified as Michael Ngamminlen Haokip, was killed in the ensuing clashes. Ten houses were also reportedly burnt during the violence.

In a separate incident in Ukhrul district, a 40-year-old man, identified as Sandeep Rai, was shot dead near Chepu Yaolen after suspected militants allegedly opened fire on his vehicle. Rai, who belonged to the Nepali community, died inside the car he was driving, the police official said.

A heavy exchange of fire between armed groups was also reported at Makui Ashang and Tapon along the IT Road in Kangpokpi district.

Following the violence in Chassad, the Kamjong district administration imposed prohibitory restrictions within a 400-metre radius of Chassad Police Gate Junction to prevent further escalation and maintain law and order. The District Magistrate issued the order under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), prohibiting the assembly of five or more people, the carrying of firearms and other potentially dangerous objects, and movement within the restricted area.

Security personnel, magistrates on duty and personnel engaged in essential services have been exempted from the restrictions.

Former Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, in a post on X, claimed that seven people had been killed in violent incidents across different parts of the state in a single day. He said suspected Myanmar-based militants had reportedly attacked Ningchou village in Kamjong district, while deadly violence had also been reported along Makui IT Road and in Chassad.

“Even a police station in Kamjong has reportedly been burnt down. Further, two Nagas from Makui Ashang village in Kangpokpi district have also been reported missing,” Singh said. He also referred to the killing of Sandeep Rai in an alleged ambush by Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA) cadres at Yolen, near TM Kasom Litan in Ukhrul district, describing the incidents as evidence of violence spreading across communities.

“What is going on? How weak have we become that armed militants can kill people, burn down police stations and challenge the authority of the Indian state with such impunity?” he asked. Singh demanded the recovery of all illegally held weapons, decisive operations against armed militant groups and stronger security along the India-Myanmar border.

He urged both state and central security forces to act without further delay.

Meanwhile, Kuki organisations offered a different account of the incident in Chassad. According to these organisations, the violence erupted when a group of women protested against the alleged arrest and detention of village volunteers.

The Kuki Human Rights Forum (KHRF) claimed that Touthang was shot while participating in the protest and died on Friday night. Several Kuki organisations, including the KHRF, the Kuki Students’ Organisation and the Kuki CSO Working Committee, Ukhrul, condemned her killing and demanded the strongest action against the security personnel allegedly responsible.

Separately, houses belonging to Tangkhul Naga villagers were reportedly set ablaze by unidentified persons during the intervening night of Friday and Saturday. Injuries on both sides were also reported, though official confirmation was awaited.

Amid the escalating tensions, the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU) announced a 24-hour total shutdown across Kangpokpi district from 6 p.m. on Saturday.

In a statement, the CoTU cited reported attacks in Chassad in Kamjong district, Yaolen in Ukhrul district and along the IT Road in Kangpokpi district, warning that the incidents posed a serious threat to civilian lives and security.

The organisation said the possibility of further attacks in vulnerable areas required urgent precautionary measures to protect civilians and prevent further escalation.

More than 40 people have reportedly been killed and numerous houses torched since clashes between Kuki and Naga communities broke out in February this year. The violence has largely been concentrated in Ukhrul, Kamjong, Kangpokpi, Tamenglong and Noney districts, as well as parts of Senapati district.

New Delhi, Oct 10: Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday criticised the detention of young men and women exercising their right to protest, claiming that the security curbs for the CJP’s protest on SIR in Delhi show that the government is “terrified” that its “illegitimacy” is being exposed.

Describing the alleged acts to “subvert democracy” as “treason” against the nation, Vadra wrote on X, “First they rough up 254 MPs and detain them completely illegally, infringing on their basic constitutional rights; they do the same to other protestors from Opposition parties.”

“Then they lay siege to the national capital, barricading it and sealing it on all sides, stopping trains and Metros, cutting the internet and placing check posts all over. They bash up and detain young men and women exercising their constitutional right to protest,” wrote the Congress MP from Wayanad.

“If this isn’t proof that they have cheated the elections with the collusion of the Election Commission, and are terrified that the illegitimacy of their government is being exposed and accountability is being demanded, then what is?” she wrote.

“India is not a democracy anymore. It is a dictatorship being run by Mr Narendra Modi and Mr Amit Shah. All those who are colluding with them to subvert democracy are committing treason against the nation,” she said.

Jairam Ramesh, Congress General Secretary in-charge Communications, said in a post on X, “The country’s capital has been turned into a fortress. Armed security personnel are deployed everywhere. The PM-HM duo is badly rattled and unnerved by the peaceful protests of concerned youth over the systematic attempt to strip away the right to vote granted under Article 326 of the Constitution.”

“There is solid evidence that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar faithfully followed the orders issued by this disastrous duo at the time of his appointment. In December 2023, when 145 opposition MPs were suspended, a law granting them lifetime legal protection was forcibly passed through Parliament,” said Ramesh.

“The resignation of the CEC, who has even lied to the Supreme Court, has now become a moral imperative. But this is only the first step toward reclaiming the foundations of our democracy. Strengthening this foundation of democracy is absolutely essential to fulfilling the hopes and aspirations of all people, especially the youth,” he said.

“It is also necessary to halt the SIR process, through which the voting rights of nearly 14 crore Indians have already been stripped away. Cancelling SIR is essential to restoring public trust and confidence in our electoral system,” said Ramesh.