Influential tribal body opposes Manipur CM's demand to hand over 'Unified Command' to state govt

Imphal, Sep 9 (IANS) A day after Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh urged the Central government to hand over the charge of 'Unified Command' to the state government to enable it to deal with the prevailing situation in the state, an influential tribal body -- Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM) -- on Monday opposed the proposal.

KIM's Information and Publicity Secretary Janghaolun Haokip said it "firmly rejects the recent demand by the Manipur Chief Minister to hand over control of the Unified Command of all the central paramilitary and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), deployed in the state".

"This (proposed) move is nothing short of an attempt to intensify the ongoing ethnic cleansing of the Kuki-Zo people. CM N. Biren Singh has time and again displayed his bias against our community," Haokip told the media.

The KIM claimed that "the demand for 'Unified Command' was not about restoring law and order but rather consolidating the CM's iron grip over security forces which had already been used to aid in the rampant murder, burning, and displacement of Kuki-Zo people".

Demanding the immediate removal of Biren Singh as Chief Minister, and formation of a separate administration for the tribals or Union Territory comprising tribal-dominated areas of Manipur, Haokip said that this (formation of Union Territory) is the only viable solution to ensure the safety, security, and well-being of the Kuki-Zo tribals.

On Sunday, the Manipur Chief Minister met Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya at the Raj Bhavan and submitted a memorandum, urging the Central government to provide adequate power and responsibilities to the elected state government as per the Constitution by handing over 'Unified Command' to deal with the prevailing situation.

A top official of the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said that the Governor would forward the memorandum, submitted by the Chief Minister, to the Central government for the necessary course of action.

Currently, Chief Security Advisor to the Manipur government Kuldeep Singh, who is the former Director General of CRPF, is the chief of the Unified Command of all the central paramilitary and CAPF, deployed in the state in large numbers after the ethnic violence broke out in Manipur in May last year.

Working under the advice of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Kuldeep Singh was appointed by the Central government soon after the ethnic violence broke out.

The CMO official had told IANS on the condition of anonymity that the memorandum, submitted to the Governor by the CM, also demanded the abrogation of the Suspension of Operation agreement signed with various factions of the Kuki militant outfits in 2008, protection of the territorial integrity of the state, completion of fencing along 398-km border with Myanmar at the earliest, and introduce the National Register of Citizens (NRC) system in the state with base year of 1961, detect all illegal migrants and deport them.

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