NDA legislators in Manipur call for mass operations against Kuki militants

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) legislators in Manipur have passed a resolution calling for “mass operations” against the suspected Kuki militants involved in the recent abduction and killing of six Meitei women and children from Jiribam on November 11.

The resolution also urges the Centre to declare the suspected militants as an “unlawful organisation” within seven days, alongside a demand for a review of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in the state’s five valley districts amid rising violence.

AFSPA grants extensive powers to security forces in conflict zones, allowing them to arrest, search, and use force if necessary to maintain public order. The NDA meeting, convened by Chief Minister N Biren Singh, saw the participation of 27 out of the 45 legislators, with six absent due to medical reasons and eleven others, including one minister, skipping the session without explanation.

The resolution comes amid escalating violence, which has claimed at least 255 lives and displaced over 59,000 people since ethnic clashes between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo-Hmar communities erupted in May 2023.

In response to the surge in violence, AFSPA was reimposed on November 14 in six police station areas in Imphal West, Imphal East, Jiribam, Kangpokpi, and Bishnupur districts. The reimposition follows reports of renewed ethnic violence, with at least 22 people killed since November 7.

State police also reported killing ten suspected Kuki militants in a gunfight in Jiribam district on November 11, although Kuki-Zo-Hmar groups disputed this, claiming that the dead were village volunteers.

Following the gunfight, militants allegedly abducted six individuals, including three women and three children, one of whom was an infant. In the days that followed, five of the abducted bodies were found in the Barak River, with the sixth body discovered recently.

The abduction led to widespread protests, with enraged mobs attacking the homes of legislators, including the chief minister’s son-in-law, and ransacking BJP and Congress offices. Protests also resulted in the death of a 25-year-old Meitei man, who was shot by state police during the unrest.

In parallel, Union Home Minister Amit Shah conducted a second consecutive day of meetings to review the security situation in the state. The Centre is considering deploying 5,000 additional paramilitary troops to assist in managing the volatile situation.

The Ministry of Home Affairs had already sent 20 more Central Armed Police Forces companies to Manipur on November 12. Meanwhile, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken over three cases related to recent violence, initially filed by the state police.

The Congress party has demanded the resignation of Home Minister Amit Shah, citing the Centre’s failure to resolve the ongoing crisis in Manipur. They also called for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit the state and engage with local leaders and civil society groups.

The Congress stressed that the BJP-led government’s inability to address the crisis has left the state in turmoil, highlighting the failure of the “double-engine government” in Manipur.