Manipur BJP MLA Rajkumar Imo Singh speaks to party supporters at his Imphal home
Manipur BJP MLA Rajkumar Imo Singh launched a fresh attack on the Opposition Congress in the state over what he claimed was the Congress's deceitful stand on the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and influx of illegal immigrants.
Addressing party supporters at his Imphal home on Thursday, Mr Singh pointed at how Congress MLAs walked out of the assembly during the recent session when the house was just about to pass a resolution on the NRC and scrapping the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement with Kuki-Zo insurgent groups.
"We have been working very hard to bring peace. But the opposition Congress has never for once reached out to say let's work together, remove SoO, take action against illegal immigrants, bring NRC, disarm all groups. The Centre is also working hard, listening to us," Mr Singh said.
"The Home Minister knows the ground reality. He said in parliament the Manipur crisis is the result of influx of illegal immigrants, narcotics angle, and weapons smuggling. He has been working with the state to take biometrics of illegal immigrants and eventually conduct the National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise with 1961 as the base year," said the BJP MLA who is also the son-in-law of Chief Minister N Biren Singh.
"But the Congress party never brought up this issue anywhere including in parliament. It seems they don't want to accept these realities. Rahul Gandhi or Gaurav Gogoi, none from the Congress has spoken about this," he said.
"The Congress walked out of the assembly just before a resolution on NRC was to be passed. We took two important resolutions - one, SoO can't be extended; it should be scrapped, and action should be taken against groups that violate ground rules. The Centre is yet to extend SoO, which indicates they are also examining our request and what we have been saying," Mr Singh said, adding the Congress MLAs who walked out alleged they didn't get time to speak in the assembly.
"How? I saw them speak and ask many questions at length. While they say something in public, they do something else in the assembly. Who walks out while passing such a critical resolution as the one on NRC?" he said.
The NRC and SoO agreement are sensitive issues in Manipur where the Kuki-Zo tribes who are a majority in the hills of southern Manipur and a few other districts, and the valley-majority Meiteis have clashed over disagreements on sharing land, resources, political representation, and affirmative action policies.
The Meiteis want the NRC exercise to be carried out to deport illegal immigrants, who they see as responsible for the crisis in Manipur. They also want the Centre and the state to end the SoO agreement with Kuki-Zo insurgent groups over allegations that these groups have been strengthening themselves and embedding in state politics by taking advantage of the SoO agreement.
The Kuki-Zo tribes have refuted these allegations, and have accused the BJP government in Manipur led by party leader and Chief Minister N Biren Singh for exploiting Meitei public sentiment to turn against the Kuki-Zo tribes, all for electoral gains.
Ten Kuki-Zo MLAs including seven from the BJP have demanded a separate administration for the Kuki-Zo-dominated districts in Manipur. Following the outbreak of violence between the two communities on May 3, 2023, the 10 MLAs in a statement had said living among the Meitei community was "as good as death for our people".
The Kuki-Zo insurgent groups that have signed the SoO agreement, however, have been demanding a separate land carved out of Manipur in the years before May 3, 2023, the day clashes erupted.
Over 200 have died in the Manipur ethnic violence, more than 50,000 have been internally displaced.
Manipur has two Lok Sabha seats - Inner Manipur, and Outer Manipur. The entire Inner Manipur constituency and some areas under Outer Manipur will vote on April 19. The remaining areas under Outer Manipur will vote on April 26. Votes will be counted on June 4.
Inner Manipur's Congress candidate is Dr Angomcha Bimol Akoijam, a professor in Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), and the BJP candidate is Thounaojam Basanta Kumar Singh, the state Education Minister.