Fresh Manipur Protests Indicate Meiteis Are Losing Hope In Biren Singh-Led Government

The Manipur state government headed by Biren Singh wasn’t trusted by the people from the Kuki-Zo community even before the start of the horrific ethnic violence.

Source : PTI

This week, fresh protests erupted in Imphal, the capital of the northeastern state of Manipur, after photographs of two murdered Meitei students, who went missing in July, became viral. Meiteis suspect armed Kuki-Zo groups behind the murders. This added fuel to the fire among the Meiteis of the valley, who are already at loggerheads with the Kuki-Zo community.

As a result, there have been multiple protests in different parts of the valley. According to reports, the angry mob pelted stones against the police and even attacked police outposts using petrol bombs. The protest was violent, according to police as stated by reports. As a result, the police had to use pellet guns to disperse the mob, which also included students. A BJP mandal office was set on fire by an angry mob in the Thoubal district. Later on Thursday night, an angry mob even tried to storm Chief Minister N Biren Singh’s ancestral house.

It has been almost five months since the ethnic violence first broke out; more than 180 lives have been lost. But the situation of Manipur, despite a brief period of lull in violence, remains tense. The ground situation remains alarming with armed groups belonging to both communities operating freely. The killing of two Meitei students suggests that armed groups, allegedly belonging to the Kuki-Zo community, were behind the incident. Not only this, the presence of Meitei militants among the Meitei mob turned the protests violent. This is what makes the situation alarming, making it difficult for the security forces to bring the situation into control.

As the situation turned worse, the state government again imposed the internet ban, which was just lifted last week. But banning the internet isn’t going to bring peace in the strife-torn state. The crucial thing that the state needs to do is to bring together the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities onto the table. It is only through dialogue that the widening gap between the two communities can be reduced. 

Unfortunately, the state government headed by Biren Singh wasn’t trusted by the people from the Kuki-Zo community even before the start of the horrific ethnic violence. The current protests by the Meiteis now suggest that even the Meiteis are losing hope in the Biren government. Too much time has been taken by the BJP-led Central government to take action against the Biren government. Until and unless dialogue takes place between the two communities, peace remains a distant dream — and for that to happen, the state needs a dispensation trusted by the people of all communities.  

BJP Replaces Meghalaya Unit President: A Step Towards Setting House In Order

This week, national president of the BJP JP Nadda replaced the party’s Meghalaya unit president Ernest Mawrie with Rikman Momin, a member of the party’s national executive. Notably, Momin is a Muslim and a senior member of the party. His appointment has been welcomed by the party leader Alexander Hek, who is also a Cabinet minister in the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance government led by Chief Minister Conrad Sangma.

The replacement of Mawrie comes days after the exit of H Shangpliang from the saffron party. He had left the party unhappy with the style of Mawrie’s functioning. He even accused Mawrie of promoting nepotism. Not only this but days after Shangpliang‘s exit, a section of BJP Mahila Morcha leaders met with Hek to discuss the working style of Mawrie.

Clearly, by changing Mawrie, the saffron party has attempted to set its house in order ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. Another thing is that by appointing a Muslim like Momin as the state president, the central party leadership has tried to send a message to the Muslim community of the country that the party isn’t against Muslims, as propagated by the Opposition parties and the Left-leaning intellectuals.

Will Congress Share Seats In Assam With I.N.D.I.A Partner

The Trinamool Congress led by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wants to contest Lok Sabha seats from other states like Assam. Assam TMC president Ripun Bora was in Kolkata to meet the party's second-in-command and Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee to discuss the party's preparations for the Lok Sabha polls in the northeastern state.

It is learnt that TMC wants to contest 2-5 seats. As the party is nationally a constituent of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A), it wants to contest in the state being a part of the alliance. In the state, the Congress is the largest constituent of the I.N.D.I.A bloc.

According to news reports, the Congress may agree to give up 2-3 seats that it didn’t win in the state to TMC. The TMC has been trying to build its base in the northeastern state after inducting former Silchar MP Sushmita Dev and Ripun Bora into the party. Significantly, both leaders were recruited from Congress. Despite all of this, TMC still remains a marginal party in the northeastern state. If the Congress cedes some seats to TMC, it would send a loud message to the other constituents of the bloc that the grand old party in order to defeat the BJP is ready to accommodate its allies. As a result of this, TMC may also cede 2-3 seats to the grand old party in West Bengal.

After delimitation, the Silchar Lok Sabha seat, falling in the Bengali-dominated Barak Valley, has become a reserved seat for the Scheduled Castes. So, Sushmita Dev can’t contest from her stronghold in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. There are chances that the TMC may ask for this seat from Congress. To be fair, Sushmita’s influence has shrunk in the area. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, she, as a sitting Congress MP, was defeated by BJP’s Rajdeep Roy by a margin of around 9% of the polled votes.

The author is a political commentator.

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