Manipur: Meitei radical group 'administers oath' to MPs, MLAs; Kuki legislators seek AFSPA in Valley

Guwahati: In a show of its clout in conflict-hit Manipur, Arambai Tenggol, a radical group representing the majority Meitei community, on Wednesday "administered oaths" to 39 MLAs and two MPs of Meitei-dominated Imphal Valley at the historic Kangla Fort in Imphal to "protect the state".

Imphal West district administration on Tuesday said Arambai Tenggol "summoned" all 40 MLAs of the valley districts to the Kangla Fort.

The administration made elaborate security arrangements in view of information that members of the group might enter the Kangla Fort with weapons before the programme.

A video shared on social media on Wednesday afternoon showed the two MPs and the MLAs "taking oath" as pronounced by the Arambai Tenggol members. Prominent among those who took the "oath" included former CM and veteran Congress leader Okram Ibobi Singh, Union Minister of State for External Affairs RK Ranjan Singh and Rajya Sabha Member Leishemba Sanajaoba. Most of the MLAs belong to ruling BJP.

Sources said 37 MLAs, barring Chief Minister N. Biren Singh and another legislator, turned up to the Kangla Fort and took the "oath." Members of the Arambai Tenggol entered the fort before 10 am amid tight security.

Manipur has 60 MLAs but 10 MLAs belonging to the Kuki-Zo-Hmar community have been camping in the Kuki-dominated hills since the Meitei-Kuki clash broke out in May last year. More than 200 people have been killed and over 60,000 others have been displaced.

Photographs shared later by Arambai Tenggol on its Facebook page showed signatures of 39 MLAs including CM N. Biren Singh, senior minister Biswajit Singh and two MPs. The CM did not attend the programme but signed the papers later, sources said.

Tenggol demands

Sources said the group (not banned) also asked the MLAs and MPs to "implement" its six-point demands that includes a crackdown against Kuki insurgent groups in ceasefire, delisting the Scheduled Tribe (ST) status of the Kukis, a NRC to detect "foreigners" and withdrawal of Assam Rifles. The demands were almost similar to those made by 35 Valley-based MLAs in their letter to Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday. The MLAs asked Shah for "positive action" to fulfill the demands and to end the conflict, failing which they resolved to take "appropriate action" in consultation with the "people of Manipur."

Interestingly, the "oath taking" programme was conducted amid the presence of a team of MHA in Imphal, which rushed to Manipur on Monday evening, following the resolution by the MLAs.

Kukis perturbed

Kuki groups say they are perturbed by the development as Arambai Tenggol was allegedly involved in the killings of the Kukis since May last year. "Manipur police and the central security forces remained mute spectators as Arambai Tenggol leader Korounganba Khuman arrived at the venue in Imphal in a vehicle, and the group proceeded to administer the oath to the MLAs," Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF), a forum of the Kuki groups in Manipur, said.

The ITLF demanded President's Rule in the state. Many Kuki groups earlier demanded that Arambai Tenggol and Meetei Leepun, another Meitei group, should be banned immediately.

Kuki MLAs write to Shah

The 10 Kuki-Zo-Hmar MLAs shot a letter to Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday seeking immediate re-imposition of AFSPA in the Imphal Valley, withdrawal of the state police commandos from Moreh and intervention into the resolutions taken by the Valley-based Meitei MLAs. The AFSPA was earlier withdrawn from areas under several police stations but was extended in the Kuki and Naga hill districts.