Imphal, Apr 30: In a significant political development, 21 Members of Manipur Legislative Assembly (MLAs) have urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to reinstate a popular government in the state.

A group of MLAs went to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and the office of the Union Home Minister in New Delhi on Tuesday and submitted the letter, signed by 21 legislators.

One of the MLAs on Wednesday confirmed the development and said that out of the 21 lawmakers, most belong to the BJP and the remaining are from the National People’s Party (NPP), Naga People’s Front (NPF) and two independent legislators.

Manipur has been under the President’s Rule since February 13, four days after the resignation of N. Biren Singh from the Chief Minister’s post. The 60-member Manipur Assembly, which, after the promulgation of President’s Rule, has been put under suspended animation, has a tenure till 2027.

The letter of the MLAs to the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister said that the people of Manipur welcome the President's Rule with lots of hope and expectations, but no visible actions to bring peace and normalcy in the state have been seen so far.

The letter said: “There is a strong apprehension among the common people that the violence may recur again in the state. Many Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have come out openly against the imposition of the President's Rule. They have been demanding the installation of a popular government in the state. These organisations have started organising public rallies, street corner meetings, instigating the general public, blaming the ruling MLAs for not staking claim to form a popular government and fixing responsibility for the imposition of President’s Rule in Manipur.”

The MLAs in their letter said that the installation of a popular government is the only means to bring peace and normalcy in Manipur. “We assure you that we will work with full dedication and devotion to bring peace and normalcy in our state after the installation of a popular government,” the letter said.

After the imposition of the President’s Rule on February 13, this is the first major appeal to the Centre to reinstate the government.

In a bid to resolve the two-year-long ethnic hostilities, the first tripartite meeting between the officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the representatives of Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities was held in New Delhi on April 5.

The six representatives of All Manipur United Clubs Organisation (AMUCO) and the Federation of Civil Society Organisations (FOCS) took part in the tripartite meeting from the Meitei community. Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) Chairman Henlianthang Thanglet led an eight-member delegation of Kuki-Zo-Hmar communities in the meeting where MHA advisor for the northeast region, A.K. Mishra, and Joint Director, MHA, Rajesh Kamble, Manipur Chief Secretary Prashant Kumar Singh, Additional Director General of Manipur Police Ashutosh Kumar Sinha, among others, were present.

Over 250 people were killed, 1500 injured, and over 70,000 people displaced after the ethnic violence broke out between the Meitei and the Kuki-Zo people on May 3, 2023, after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’, organised in the hill districts to protest the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status. The rioting also left thousands of houses, government and non-government properties, and religious installations destroyed or damaged.

--IANS

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