Canchipur, April 29 (IANS): Expressing sadness over attacks on youths from the northeastern region in the national capital, President Pranab Mukherjee Tuesday said the “pluralistic character” of the country must not be weakened.
“It is unfortunate that the capital city of Delhi had some time back witnessed certain tragic incidents of attacks on young people from the northeast,” Mukherjee said at the 14th convocation of Manipur University here. “We must ensure that the pluralistic character of our nation and the thread of India’s unity are not weakened by such unacceptable events,” he added.
The president expressed happiness that both the central and Delhi governments “took firm action” by apprehending and punishing the accused and also “putting in place measures to ensure that such incidents do not recur”. Nido Tania, a student from Arunachal Pradesh, was allegedly beaten up by four men in south Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar market Jan 29 following a row over his appearance and clothing. He died in a hospital the next day. The four accused are now in judicial custody.
Asserting that societies flourish only in an “atmosphere free from violence”, Mukherjee also asked the youth from Manipur to “join hands” with the rest of India in “forging the future of the nation.” However, people should realize that peace was important for development, he said. “Economy and society can flourish only in an atmosphere free from violence. No problem is ever resolved by violence which only aggravates the pain and the hurt on every side,” Mukherjee said.
Empty streets greet President in Imphal
Newmai News Network
Imphal | April 29
Imphal | April 29
Empty streets of Imphal greeted President of India Pranab Mukherjee this afternoon. A 12 hour Manipur state-wide bandh called by the Coordination Committee (CorCom), a conglomerate of several militant outfits including KCP, KYKL, PREPAK, PREPAK (Pro), RPF and UNLF, was in place during the President’s visit. The Maoist Communist Party, Manipur (MCPM) and URF also imposed a bandh to boycott the President’s visit to Manipur today. The CorCom bandh started from 6 am while MCPM’s bandh started from 5 am on Tuesday.
All business establishments in the state capital shut shop due to the bandhs. Few vehicles were seen on the streets and educational institutions were also closed today in the valley districts of Manipur. The inter-state and inter-district public transports were also affected. However, there were no untoward reports received from anywhere.
