Referring to the January 24 “meeting” of radical Meitei group Armabai Tenggol and Meitei MLAs and MPs a “total breakdown of the Indian Constitutional machineries”, Manipur’s 10 Kuki-Zomi MLAs wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday once again pushing for their demand for a separate administration for Kuki-Zomi territories.
The “meeting” was in response to a “summons” issued to all Meitei MLAs and MPs by the Arambai Tenggol. All the MLAs and MPs, including Union Minister of State for External Affairs Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, attended it amid the heavy fortification of Kangla Fort in the heart of Imphal with massive security development both inside and at all gates of the complex, and three MLAs were reportedly assaulted by Arambai Tenggol members during it.
“Lawlessness has become a new law in the capital city of Imphal. This Taliban-like act of Arambai Tenggol shows the total breakdown of the Indian Constitutional machinery in Manipur Valley. The state government is forced to comply with the bidding of Arambai Tenggols. Such instances of militia taking over the streets despite the presence of a democratically elected popular government are unprecedented in Independent India. Hence, the need for an alternative political solution is urgently imperative at this critical juncture,” they wrote.
