A civil society group has junked the resolution adopted by CM Biren Singh-led NDA government of Manipur and has issued a 24-hour ultimatum. This comes amid a spike in violence in Manipur after the killing of three women and three children in the Jiribam district within seven days.
Following this, irate mobs set fire to the residences of three BJP legislators, one of whom is a senior minister, and a Congress MLA in various districts of Imphal Valley where an indefinite curfew has been clamped. The residence of CM Singh was also attacked by protestors following which the security was tightened and the internet was shut down.
In a meeting held on Monday, the Manipur government had adopted a resolution calling for a "mass operation" against the militants responsible for killing six people. The meeting, held on Monday night, was attended by 27 MLAs.
However, the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity said that the people of Manipur were not happy with the resolution. "We are giving 24 hours ultimatum to review the resolution made by the State Government," the committee asserted.
Khuraijam Athouba, spokesperson for Coordinating Committee said, "The people of Manipur are not satisfied with the resolutions. They have resolved to start mass operations against Kuki militants responsible for the killing of six innocent women and children in Jiribam. But we have been telling that the crime has happened not just in Jiribam but in several other places of Manipur since May 2023."
"People of Manipur have demanded the state government and the legislators to fix responsibility on all SoO groups and carry out operations against them," he added. The committee has also issued a three-point agenda to control the violence, asserting that the militant groups involved in the recent attacks should be banned.
Coffin Protest in Manipur
Hundreds of people walked in a march with empty coffins in Manipur's Churachandpur district demanding justice for those killed in a gunfight with the security forces in Jiribam. Ten suspected militants were killed in the gunfight with security forces last week after insurgents in camouflage uniforms, armed with sophisticated weapons, fired indiscriminately at the Borobekra police station and an adjacent CRPF camp at Jakuradhor in Jiribam, according to the Manipur Police.
The rally, organised by the Joint Philanthropic Organisation (JPO), started around 11 am. Hundreds of people participated in it with placards demanding justice for those killed, and a separate administration in the hill areas.
The march concluded at the 'Wall of Remembrance', a memorial for the Kuki people killed in the ethnic violence in the state since May last year.
Manipur Ruling MLAs Lay Down Strategy
The NDA legislators called on the Centre to review the imposition of AFSPA under an order dated November 14, with immediate effect. Further, it was resolved that the cases related to the Jiribam killings, the death of another woman who was burnt on November 7, in Jiribam, and the killing of a woman farmer in Saiton, Bishnupur, on November 9, be handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for a thorough probe.
The ruling MLAs also demanded that the militants responsible for the killings be declared an "unlawful organisation" within seven days. If these resolutions were not implemented within the specified timeline, the NDA legislators warned that they would go to the people to consult them on the future course of action.
More than 220 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in violence in Manipur since May last year.