Manipur Chief Minister's eight-point list of demands for the centre

Imphal:

In a significant development in strife-torn Manipur, a section of lawmakers from the ruling BJP and its allies have asked the central government to take concrete steps they have suggested in an eight-point memorandum, including handing over control of the Unified Command that oversees security operations in the state bordering Myanmar, sources said. The Unified Command is currently headed by a security adviser.

According to sources, Chief Minister N Biren Singh and a section of MPs from the ruling alliance have submitted a list of demands to Governor Lakshman Acharya. The list demands “adequate powers and responsibilities to the constitutionally elected state government by giving Unified Command,” a source told Agency.

Another key demand on the list is the scrapping of the tripartite Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement between the central government, the state government and the Kuki insurgent groups to enable the security forces to crack down harshly. In January this year, an all-party meeting in Manipur had asked the central government and the state government to scrap the agreement so that the security forces could launch large-scale operations against the Kuki insurgents.

The list also asks the Centre to ensure peace in the state, which is reeling from a cycle of violence following the ethnic riots in May last year. The Chief Minister and some of the legislators of the ruling alliance have also demanded protection of the territorial integrity of the state, completion of the border fence, a National Register of Citizens exercise and deportation of all illegal immigrants, sources said.

The violence has escalated over the past six days after suspected Kuki insurgents launched armed drones in Imphal West district, killing one person. A woman was also shot dead by suspected Kuki insurgents. On Friday, a rocket attack by Kuki insurgents from the hills killed an elderly man from the Meitei community in Moirang town, police said.

Clashes between the Meitei community and the nearly two dozen tribes known as Kukis, who dominate some hilly areas of Manipur, have killed more than 220 people and internally displaced nearly 50,000.