Ukhrul, Dec 11: Ten Kuki-Zo MLAs, including seven from the BJP-led government in Manipur, submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday to expedite political talks on separate administration from the violence-hit state.
The Kuki-Zo MLAs submitted the memorandum after participating in a silent sit-in protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. They reiterated their demand for a separate administration in the form of a Union Territory with a Legislature and expediting political dialogue to resolve the ongoing ethnic conflict as soon as possible.
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They alleged that the state government has effectively stopped functioning since May 3, 2023, and requested funding from the central government for development projects. “The Manipur government has failed to ensure the supply of life-saving drugs and other essential supplies to our people as it succumbs to the demands of radicalized valley-based organizations,” they stated.
The legislators also recommended the Centre consider directing funds for development projects in critical sectors such as health care, education, roads, and water supply to district authorities based on the suggestions of elected representatives from those districts.
“As the communalized State Government had deprived our people of all development funds, we urge the Central Government to kindly make an interim planning mechanism and budgetary arrangements to fund the much-needed development projects in the districts predominantly inhabited by our people, pending final separation through a political settlement,” the memorandum stated.
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The MLAs claimed that their community does not disrupt the movement of goods trucks and vehicles carrying essential items in the Kangpokpi district, following the advice of the central government, however, the Meiteis, fully aware of the state government’s actions, continue to prevent these supplies from reaching their people in the hill districts.
The legislators further mentioned that attacks by armed militia on the Kuki-Zo settlements continue even today and the gruesome murder and brutal burning of Zosangkim Hmar in Jiribam on 8 November 2024 is a stark reminder of how the state government continues to patronize the Meitei militia organizations.
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Moreover, the legislators expressed strong resentment against the delay in political dialogue on mere pretexts and technicalities of SoO extension with KNO and UPF at the behest of the biased and communalized Manipur government and Meitei CSOs.
They further condemned the attempts to create divisions among their people through proposals to discontinue the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement with certain armed groups. Emphasizing that the SoO was established to address political issues and promote peace, they maintained that it contradicts the agreement’s essence if the government is reluctant to extend the SoO to specific armed groups within its framework.
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