Guwahati: A day after two persons belonging to Meitei community were killed in fresh firing, Rajkumar Imo Singh, an MLA of ruling BJP in conflict-hit Manipur, on Monday wrote to Home Minister Amit Shah seeking withdrawal of central forces alleging that the forces remained "mute spectators".
"It seems the presence of around 60,000 central forces in Manipur is not yielding peace, thus it’s better to remove such forces who are mostly present as mute spectators. We are pleased with the action to remove certain units of Assam Rifles, who were not cooperating with the state government and the public. But if the presence of these and other central forces cannot halt the violence, it is better to remove them and allow the state forces to take charge and bring peace," Singh, who is the son-in-law of Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, said in his letter to Shah.
Alleging that the Kuki insurgents violated the ground rules of the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement by attacking the Meitei village on Sunday, Singh reiterated his demand for abrogation of the agreement. This is one of the major demands of the organisations representing the majority Meitei community.
Manipur police on Sunday alleged that Kuki insurgents carried out an attack on Koutruk village in Meitei-dominated Imphal West district by using drones and rocket propelled grenades, in which two persons died and six others were injured. Kuki organisations, however, on Sunday said there was an exchange of firing between insurgent groups from the valley, state police and "village volunteers" of the Kuki-dominated Kangpokpi district following an ambush on civilians on Kanguii-Lamka Road.
"Investigate the fundings and supply of these arms and ammunition which are constantly spreading more terror in the state, as I said earlier too that a mere ethnic conflict should not last for such a long time. It has continued for nearly a year-and-a-half due to the supply of illegal arms and ammunition. One has to act and stop these supplies immediately to halt all kinds of violence in the state," Imo Singh said.
He also urged Shah that the Centre should hand over the Unified Command to the state government headed by the Chief Minister and allow it to act as per the procedures to bring peace and normalcy in the state. "Political dialogue and engagement between all stakeholders should be initiated at the earliest by the central government to bring a permanent and peaceful solution."
The conflict between Meitei and the Kuki-Zo communities since May last year has killed 128 people and displaced over 60,000 others. Sporadic incidents of firing has continued along the Meitei-dominated valley and the Kuki-dominated districts despite presence of central security forces, including the army.