‘In 3 months of President's Rule in Manipur, every attempt to restore peace has failed, those against it not held liable': COCOMI
The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), the umbrella body of the Meitei groups, has supported the move for government formation in the state. A day after the outfit held talks with the Union Home Ministry in Delhi over a row brewing on the covering up of 'Manipur' name on a state transport bus, its convenor Khuraijam Athouba told The Indian Express that the administration under President's Rule has not been able to restore peace nor punish those who disturbed it.
In an interview, he also talked about the new row over which it announced a state-wide agitation starting May 25, and has demanded an apology from Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla, and the removal of Chief Secretary Prashant Kumar Singh, DGP Rajiv Singh and Security Advisor Kuldiep Singh. Excerpts:
* Why have you hit the streets over the alleged covering up of the word 'Manipur' on a state transport bus by security forces?
This May 20 incident is widely seen as an insult to the identity of the state by the state administration… The top administrators in the state right now – as it is under President's Rule – are the Chief Secretary, DGP and the Security Advisor. If that incident happened under some kind of instruction, the three of them must have knowledge of it. So, we hold them responsible and demanded their replacement… The Governor is the head of the state… So, he should take moral responsibility and we sought an apology from him… There was notification of the constitution of an inquiry committee… but it is not an independent inquiry as it (will be supervised by) the Chief Secretary… We could not get any positive response from the government's side. So, we had to intensify the agitation.
* How was your meeting with Home Ministry officials on Tuesday?
The meeting was earlier to be held ahead of our May 3 'People's Convention'. But because of Operation Sindoor – the entire nation stood with the government against terrorism – we held it back and extended our solidarity, waiting for the right time. By the time we met on Tuesday, the incident of May 20 had happened. So we included it in our agenda. We told Home Ministry officials that there should be some action from the government's side… We are waiting for the government's response. Hopefully we will see some decisions.
* Ten Manipur MLAs met the Governor Wednesday claiming the support of 44 legislators to form a government. Are you in touch with these MLAs?
We are not as such, but are planning to hold talks with MLAs regarding the resolutions we adopted so that there can be a unanimous voice before the Centre and an early settlement to the crisis…
The MLAs are on the side of the people. However, the general feeling is that they are not doing enough, and have left matters to the civil society rather than functioning as people's representatives.
* Do you think President's Rule should be lifted in Manipur and a popular government restored?
Yes. The recent incident also shows that President's Rule is an alien administration. They don't understand the state's history and its identity; how the people are sensitive about it. The lack of that kind of understanding creates issues. They are unable to relate to the people. So, President's Rule is not a good choice.
We have had bitter experiences with President's Rule in the past as well. If you remember 2001, the Assembly was burnt down during President's Rule… The government was not able to cope with the long-drawn crisis (since May 2023) and so thought of handing over things to the Centre… But after three months of President's Rule, there are no visible results. Every attempt to restore peace has failed, and those against peace have not been held liable. They haven't been punished, controlled or contained.
* Has any effort been made to initiate talks with the Kuki side?
No, not as of now, as the sane voices among Kuki civilians are yet to come forward. They are completely controlled by armed militant groups, who are solely responsible for this crisis. At Tuesday's meeting too, we told the Home Ministry that it is very important that the government control and contain all the elements trying to disrupt or suppress the voice of innocent civilians on the Kuki and Meitei side as well. We should help these voices emerge.
If the government is able to control the separatists, we will also extend our support to talks for reconciliation and restoration of peace and normalcy in the state. We are waiting for that.
* In case a popular government does take over, who could be the possible CM?
It is difficult for us to comment on that… There are many people who want to become Chief Minister. I don't know what their (motivation) is. Are they trying to prove themselves capable of resolving the crisis, or are they just driven by hunger for power?
* One concern of the Centre is that a large portion of the looted weapons and ammunition have not been surrendered yet.
As per a government report, 5,000-plus arms have been recovered, most of them from the (Meitei-dominated) Valley. The hill volunteers and armed groups have openly defied the call of the government asking for surrender of arms. Despite this defiance by organisations and village volunteers, the government has not taken any counter-measure. This has created an apprehension in the minds of Valley people about whether surrendering of arms is the right thing or not… This is not conducive.
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