Today in Politics: Convention in Imphal, shutdown in Kuki areas – Manipur groups to mark two years of ethnic conflict
Security has been tightened across Manipur as a precautionary measure ahead of the second anniversary of the start of the ethnic conflict in the state on May 3, 2023.
The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), a Meitei social organisation, has called on the public to suspend all activities on May 3 and attend the Manipur People's Convention in the state capital of Imphal.
The Kuki Students' Organisation (KSO) and Zomi Students' Federation (ZSF) have also called for a shutdown on May 3 in all Kuki-dominated areas. They also encouraged participation in the Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum's 'Separation Day' event at the Churachandpur district headquarters and called on people to hoist black flags at their residences as a mark of mourning.
The Federation of Civil Society Organisations (FOCS) also announced that May 3 would be observed as a 'solemn day of remembrance and solidarity under the theme Bridging Divides for Shared Future'.
More than 260 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in the ethnic violence between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and adjoining hills-based Kuki-Zo groups since May 2023. After Chief Minister N Biren Singh, of the BJP -led state government, resigned in February this year, Manipur was placed under President's Rule. The state Assembly, which has a tenure till 2027, has been put under suspended animation.
State Congress units react to caste census
After the Centre on Wednesday announced that caste enumeration will be a part of the next population Census, the Congress has claimed the move is a vindication of its demand for a nationwide caste census, which has been the centerpiece of the party's social justice agenda for the past two years.
However, the apprehension within Congress ranks is that, in one stroke, the BJP-led Centre may have taken away one of its crucial planks, as reported by Manoj C G. In fact, while announcing its decision on Wednesday to hold a caste census, the government slammed opposition parties for using it as a 'political tool'.
Against this backdrop, several state Congress units are making a fresh push on the issue of a caste census as well as its long-running 'Samvidhan Bachao (Save the Constitution)' campaign. In Madhya Pradesh, state party chief Jitu Patwari said the Congress will hold programmes to sensitise people on the caste census issue from May 3 to 10, along with the Constitution campaign, as part of which rallies will be held in each district of the state. In Odisha, too, beginning on May 3, the party will hold district-level rallies as part of the Constitution campaign for a week.
AIMIM rally in poll-bound Bihar
While speaking on how the Centre should react to the Pahalgam terror attack, saying that 'decisive action' should be taken against Pakistan, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi announced that his party AIMIM will contest the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections.
Owaisi said the party has already declared its candidate for the Bahadurganj constituency and that he will address public meetings in Bihar on May 3 and 4.
The AIMIM had seen moderate success in the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections, contesting 20 seats and winning five – all in Seemanchal, a region with a significant Muslim population. However, in 2022, the party suffered a major setback when all but one of its MLAs switched to the RJD, the state's main opposition party.
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