The 13-day Manipur Assembly session began on Wednesday but without the ten Kuki-Zo MLAs.
They have decided to skip the session, the third time they will be doing so due to security reasons since the ongoing ethnic conflict erupted in May last year, the decision reflecting the ground situation as well as the distrust fanned by the unrest between the Kuki-Zo and Meitei communities.
A first-time ruling BJP Kuki-Zo MLA, Paoilienlal Haokip, told The Telegraph: “Until the weakest of my people feel safe, I am not safe to attend the Assembly.”
He said, “As people’s representatives, we cannot attend an Assembly session that is being held in a place (Imphal) from which our people were marked and ethnically cleansed under the patronage of the CM. We know we may be safe ... but we know our people, especially women and children, will never feel safe again in the Imphal valley, and our primary concern is their safety and security.”
“Knowing fully well the extent of hatred for our people, we have sought a separate administration from the state of Manipur and we wait on the central government to meet our demand for lasting peace and the safety and security of even the weakest of our people... the complete demographic separation is unprecedented in Indian history and begs an unprecedented political solution,” Haokip further said.
Another Kuki-Zo MLA said they could not attend the Assembly in Imphal because of security reasons. “It is totally unsafe for us,” he said, adding they have not received any personal invitation from N. Biren Singh to attend the session.
Singh had told the media on July 25: “I will personally extend the invitations, in addition to a formal invitation sent through the Assembly. The 10 Kuki-Zo MLAs should join us, and we are prepared to cooperate.”
Of the ten Kuki-Zo MLAs, seven are from the ruling BJP, two from the KPA and one Independent. This group, which also includes two ministers, had similarly skipped the last two sessions held in August and March.
The Assembly is located in the capital Imphal, a Meitei-majority area, one of the worst impacted like Bishnupur, Churachandpur and Tengnoupal due to the conflict involving the Kuki-Zos and the Meiteis that began on May 3, 2023.
The strife has left at least 229 dead and over 60000 displaced and even after 14 months, neither Kuki-Zos nor Meiteis can venture into each other’s areas despite heavy deployment of central forces.
On the invitation extended by the chief minister, who tabled the state budget for 2024-25 in the Assembly on Wednesday, Haokip said: “It is not the job of a CM to personally invite legislators to the Assembly session. It is also not the job of a CM to ask MLAs
to evacuate people belonging to their community from the capital when ethnic riots break out.”
In an emotionally charged speech in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, Congress Lok Sabha MP from Outer Manipur, Alfred KS Arthur, tore into the BJP-led Centre over its handling of the Manipur conflict, asking “why is it so difficult to replace one man for peace” in the “small” state while referring to the chief minister.
CM presents budget
In his 18-page budget speech, Singh expressed his “gratitude to the people of this State for their unwavering support during the hard times”.
“What we have all seen in the past one year is nothing short of a tragedy. I strongly condemn the loss of lives, properties and livelihood which is the outcome of the loss of trust between communities. It is our collective responsibility to find an amicable solution,” the embattled chief minister said.
He also dwelt on the adverse impact the ongoing unrest has caused on the economy, the assistance being received by the Centre to cope with the situation in terms of funding and manpower, and the measures being taken to help the displaced and the affected, due to the unrest and natural calamities. “In order to make up for the revenue losses suffered by the state, the central government approved a special assistance for revenue loss of ₹500 crores,” he said.
