“Main aim to ensure trust, peace, tranquillity in state”: Army Chief Gen Dwivedi in Manipur

Imphal (Manipur) [India], August 24 (ANI): Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi on Saturday said that the main aim of his ongoing visit to Manipur was to ensure that there is trust, peace and tranquillity in the State which has seen ethnic violence in recent times.

General Dwivedi told ANI that he had met Chief Minister N Biren Singh where the two discussed a lot of issues.

“My main aim to come here was to review the security situation as of today in Manipur and I was happy to see the great coordination between the security agencies. I had a detailed frank discussion and lot many kinds of lines of effort have come on how should we take this journey ahead and the main aim is to ensure that there is trust, peace and tranquillity in this state,” Gen Dwivedi said.

“I was lucky to meet the chief minister since he was in the station and it was a very great meeting, very encouraging meeting where we could discuss a lot of issues and we were looking for the way forward where we can bring peace in the State and also how to get all the communities together so that there is an enhanced harmonious relationship amongst them,” he said.

On his arrival in Manipur, the Army chief was briefed on operational preparedness by commanders on the ground. General Upendra Dwivedi also held a discussion with heads of various security agencies in the state in which he expressed his appreciation for the insights shared by them.

During his visit, General Dwivedi also interacted with troops and complimented the soldiers for their professionalism, operational readiness, and dedication to duty. In addition, the Chief of Army Staff also met with veterans and praised their selfless service and their invaluable contribution towards nation-building.

Chief Minister Biren Singh earlier had taken to his social media platform X to post about the meeting with the Army Chief.

“Had a productive meeting with General Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of Army Staff, along with Lieutenant General RC Tiwari, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Lieutenant General Abhijit S Pendharkar, General Officer Commanding 3 Corps, and Major General Ravroop Singh, Inspector General Assam Rifles (South) at my Secretariat,” Singh posted.

“I deeply appreciate General Dwivedi’s visit to Manipur. Deliberated on critical issues concerning the current situation of our state. We reaffirmed the cooperation between the state government and the security forces in effectively responding to the challenges we face, maintain peace and harmony in the state,” the Manipur chief minister posted on X.

Violence erupted in the northeastern state following clashes during a rally organised by the All Tribal Students Union (ATSU) to protest against the demand for the inclusion of the Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribe category.

Intermittent incidents of violence between the two communities are still being reported and the state is under heavy security cover.