New Delhi: A day after 40 BJP MLAs from Manipur appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to transfer Assam Rifles from Manipur, a group of 10 other MLAs from the ruling party on Thursday appealed to Modi not to withdraw Assam Rifles from the northeast state.
In a memorandum submitted to the Prime Minister's Office, the MLAs from Kuki-Zoh-Hmar tribal communities of the State said that Assam Rifles should not be removed from the State as it would harm and jeopardize the safety and security of the tribal people. “We humbly pray to control the State forces, curtail their power and give direction not to violate the buffer zone manned by the central paramilitary forces for restoration of peace in the State,” the MLAs said.
The MLAs in their memorandum which was also sent to Home Minister Amit Shah said that Assam Rifles were working hard together with the other central forces to contain the situation of Manipur. They alleged that the Manipur Police has now started removing Assam Rifles posts from key areas and also started lodging false and fabricated FIR against Assam Rifles to hinder them from doing their duties.
On Wednesday, 40 MLAs from the Meitei community appealed to Prime Minister Modi to transfer Assam Rifles from Manipur and replace them with other central forces. Meanwhile, the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) and all Kuki-Zo tribals on Thursday criticized Home Minister Amit Shah for his statement regarding the ethnic conflict in Manipur.
Also read: 'Mind-boggling': Manipur tribal body fumes over Amit Shah's Lok Sabha speech
Three months of violence has led to the deaths of more than 130 Kuki-Zo tribals, the displacement of 41,425 tribal civilians and the complete physical and emotional separation of Meteis and tribals. And the best explanation that the home minister can come up with is the entry of refugees from Myanmar, Ginza Vualzong, ITLF spokesperson said.
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The 10 #Kuki_Zo MLAs defend Assam Rifles @official_dgar; submit Memorandum to @PMOIndia to not remove AR from Manipur as removing them would harm & Jeopardize to peoples of hills esp. #Kuki_Zo Tribals Safety & Security.#SaveKuki_ZoTribals#RespectAssamRifles 🇮🇳#ManipurViolence pic.twitter.com/7U0qoc8lyR
— Steveseyz Hk 🇮🇳 (@steveHk) August 10, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
">The 10 #Kuki_Zo MLAs defend Assam Rifles @official_dgar; submit Memorandum to @PMOIndia to not remove AR from Manipur as removing them would harm & Jeopardize to peoples of hills esp. #Kuki_Zo Tribals Safety & Security.#SaveKuki_ZoTribals#RespectAssamRifles 🇮🇳#ManipurViolence pic.twitter.com/7U0qoc8lyR
— Steveseyz Hk 🇮🇳 (@steveHk) August 10, 2023The 10 #Kuki_Zo MLAs defend Assam Rifles @official_dgar; submit Memorandum to @PMOIndia to not remove AR from Manipur as removing them would harm & Jeopardize to peoples of hills esp. #Kuki_Zo Tribals Safety & Security.#SaveKuki_ZoTribals#RespectAssamRifles 🇮🇳#ManipurViolence pic.twitter.com/7U0qoc8lyR
— Steveseyz Hk 🇮🇳 (@steveHk) August 10, 2023
“Mizoram has welcomed more than 40,000 refugees from Myanmar and displaced people from Manipur, and it is still the most peaceful state in India,” he said. The Scheduled Tribe demand by the majority community, the government notification on forest reserves which would usurp tribals from their lands, and the demonizing of tribals by the Chief Minister and radical Meitei intellectuals are the reasons why the trust deficit grew between Meiteis and tribals, which culminated in the sectarian clashes, he said.
“Accusing refugees, who are some of the most deprived and helpless sections in any community, of starting a conflict at this scale is just plain wrong,” Vualzong.
He also criticized Shah for defending Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh. “We consider Singh as the chief architect of the violence. So many innocent people have died under his watch, and violence continues unabated after three months. Many of his own ministers have made submissions to the central government saying law and order has completely collapsed in the state. Despite all this, he is still being feted by the central government instead of being sacked. We appeal to the home minister to rise above party politics in dealing with the crisis in Manipur,” Vualzong said.
Meanwhile, the lone MP from Mizoram in Rajya Sabha, K Vanlalvena on Thursday criticized Amit Shah for his statement on Manipur on Wednesday saying tribals in Manipur are not immigrants from Myanmar but they have been in the northeast over 200 years before the British colonized India.
Raising the issue, Vanlalvena informed the Rajya Sabha, “I am a tribal from Mizoram and we are not foreigners and we are not Myanmarese nationals, we are India. We have been in the northeast hundreds of years before India became independent.” However, Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankar said that none of what was being said will be on record as it was a sensitive issue.
