It seems the BJP-led Manipur government is not ready to accept criticism of its activities.
It has come to light after RK Echanthoibi, a popular Manipuri video blogger, was sent behind the bars for criticizing chief minister N Biren Singh over the Inner Line Permit (ILP).
A media report quoted Imphal West police chief K Meghachandra Singh that the Manipuri video blogger was remanded to judicial custody on December 17.
The police official also informed that the vlogger will have to remain in jail till December 30 when the court will conduct the next hearing in her case.
A strong critic of the government, Echanthoibi has reportedly been charged with defamation, causing public mischief, and provoking breach of peace.
The cop said the police have taken suo motu cognizance of the case and lodged an FIR.
Echanthoibi, in a video uploaded recently on YouTube, came down heavily at Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh for organising celebrations following the announcement by union home minister Amit Shah that Manipur would be brought under the ILP regime.
While claiming that the announcement is the result of a people’s movement, Echanthoibi accused N Biren and the BJP-led government of “unfairly claiming credit” for the new development.
After several meetings with different organizations from all the northeastern states ahead of introducing the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB), 2019 in Lok Sabha, union home minister Amit Shah announced that the bill would not be implemented in Sixth Schedule areas and in states where there is ILP.
And, to exempt Manipur from the purview of the Citizenship Amendment Bill (now Citizenship Amendment Act), Amit Shah later announced that ILP would be implemented in Manipur.
The Inner Line Permit is a document required by foreigners or non-local Indian citizens to enter places designated “protected areas”.
Earlier, the ILP regime covered all of Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, and Nagaland.
The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019 seeks to make undocumented non-Muslim migrants of six religions including Hindu, Jain, Christian, Buddhist, Parsi, and Sikh from Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Pakistan eligible for Indian citizenship.
After the announcement of ILP for Manipur, the state government had declared a holiday the next day to celebrate the occasion.
The police official also said the vlogger in an earlier video had “openly supported” the “government in exile” of Manipur that two people claimed to have set up in the United Kingdom on behalf of the state’s titular king, Leishemba Sanajaoba.