Amid the ongoing turmoil over removal of Assam Rifles from the ethnic strife-affected state of Manipur, the Meitei and Kuki MLAs have penned separate letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and made conflicting demands over the presence of Assam Rifles in the state.
The contradiction is evident as 40 legislators, most of whom are Meiteis, sought removal of the para-military force from the northeastern state, 10 Kuki MLAs urged Modi not to do so asserting this could jeopardise the security of the tribals.
In a bid to maintain the law and order amid spiraling conflict, Assam Rifles and other central forces including the Army were deployed in Manipur in early May.
About the Meitei MLAs' letter to PM Modi
The group of 40 legislators, mostly from Meitei community, sought removal of Assam Rifles from their present location of deployment . They also demanded that "trustworthy Central forces" along with state security can replace them to "neutralise and sanitise" all threats to peace, security and stability.
They also said, "For the immediate establishment of security, simple deployment of forces is inadequate. Although it is imperative to halt the violence in the peripheral areas, a complete disarmament is the key to achieve this goal.”
These MLAs also demanded the withdrawal of the Suspension of Operations (SoO) Agreement with Kuki militant groups, implementation of NRC in the state and strengthening of the Autonomous District Councils (ADCs).
"There has been large-scale foreign infiltration with arms and ammunition into the state. So, the Central forces should proactively engage with them. There has been a non-stop conflict between the State/Central forces and these insurgent armed groups In the state for the last 3 months," the memorandum said.
On August 8, the Manipur unit of the BJP also requested Modi to replace Assam Rifles with any other paramilitary force “permanently from the state in the interest of the public".
What did the Kuki-Zo-Hmar MLAs write?
Opposing the demands made by the Meitei legislators, in another memorandum to the prime minister on Thursday, the Kuki-Zo-Hmar MLAs defended the Assam Rifles and asserted that the Assam Rifles stood the test of time.
“On behalf of all Tribal communities, we the elected Tribal representatives (MLAs) humbly pray to you not to remove the Assam Rifles from our state as it would harm and jeopardise our safety and security.
“At the same time, we humbly pray you to control the state forces, curtail their powers and give direction to not violate the Buffer Zones manned by the Central Paramilitary aces for restoration of peace in the state, in public interest,” the memorandum read.
Police against Assam Rifles
Manipur Police registered an FIR on August 5 accusing the Assam Rifles of blocking their vehicle after an altercation between the two forces on the Kwakta Gothol road in Bishnupur district.
The Assam Rifles is being “falsely blamed by Meiteis” as they safeguard humanity, are compassionate yet firm in handling tense situations and are unbiased, the tribal legislators claimed.
Earlier, all 10 Kuki MLAs in the state cutting across party lines wrote to the Centre, seeking a separate administration for Kuki areas.
