The United Naga Council (UNC), while extending its “heartfelt” condolence over the sudden demise of Dr. Nehginpao Kipgen who reportedly died of COVID-19 at AIIMS in Delhi on May 2, 2021, has raised questions regarding the citizenship of late Dr. Kipgen and the “legal ground” for the burial of the latter at “Kangpokpi/Sadar Hills under Senapati district” in Manipur.
In a press statement on Wednesday, the UNC said that it was constrained to raise this “pertinent” question in the interest of all, including the state government of Manipur and the Kuki Inpi in particular to prove constitutional/legal ground in justification for the burial of late Dr. Nehginpao Kipgen at “Kangpokpi / Sadar Hills under Senapati district, Manipur”. The UNC further stated that Dr. Kipgen was not an “indigenous” person from Manipur. But the Naga body asked whether he ever had acquired an Indian citizenship under due procedure. “This question is undoubtedly important for an unfailing consideration in multi-ethnic society like the state of Manipur,” the UNC further stated. The Naga body then said that “burial of a foreigner in our ancestral land will be a bad precedent”. Therefore, the UNC raised the question of the citizenship of late Nehginpao Kipgen and urged the state government and Kuki Inpi to “look before they leap”.
The UNC, however, shared the grief and sorrow with the bereaved family members and “joins with the family in paying requim to the departed soul” by saying, May his soul rest in eternal peace”.
