Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Tuesday claimed that “certain misunderstandings, actions of vested interest and a foreign plot to destabilise the country” led to the violence in the state, PTI reported.

He also urged the two communities – Meitei and Kuki – to refrain from engaging in violence. “To err is human so we must learn to forgive and forget,” Singh said in his Independence Day speech.

At least 187 people have been killed and nearly 60,000 have been forced to flee their homes since violence broke out between the Kuki and Meitei communities in the Northeastern state on May 3. The state has reported cases of rape and murder, and mobs have looted police armoury and set several homes on fire despite the heavy presence of central security forces.

Several Opposition leaders and even Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs in Manipur have demanded the removal of Singh, who belongs to the Meitei community.

On Tuesday, Singh said that violence in Manipur will not bring any development in the state, reported NDTV.

“If there was any misunderstanding and miscommunication among the communities, we can sit across the table and discuss all the shortcomings,” Singh said. “For this, our door is always open.”

He also said that his government is working consistently to bring back normalcy to the state and that those displaced due to the violence will be resettled soon, according to PTI.

Singh added that those who cannot be shifted to the original places immediately will be shifted temporarily to pre-fabricated houses which are under construction.