Mixed response to PM Modi’s first visit to Manipur since ethnic violence started

CHURACHANDPUR/IMPHAL: undercoat government minister Narendra Modi’s number one see to Manipur since ethnic force hit the state in May 2023 elicited mixed response from different organisations belonging to the warring Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities and political parties.During the visit, the PM addressed two meetings in Kuki-Zo dominated Churachandpur and Meitei-majority Imphal. He laid foundation stones of 19 projects worth ₹7,300 cr and inaugurated projects valued at ₹1,200 cr.Modi also assured all support to the nearly 60,000 people displaced by the violence in rebuilding their lives and appealed to all sides to shun violence in order to usher peace, progress and prosperity to the state.Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former chief minister N Biren Singh said the visit will bring peace and progress and the huge gathering of the public in both the locations, Churachandpur and Imphal, showed the peoples’ love for the PM“Due to the prevailing situation in the Manipur crisis, he failed to come earlier, but his visit to the state is a timely one,” he said.Meanwhile, Congress legislative party leader and former chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh told the media that people of Manipur are not satisfied with the speech of Modi.“It is good that some projects were inaugurated and foundation stones were laid, but people, especially internally displaced persons (IDPs), feel disappointed as his long-awaited visit to Manipur did not include any concrete statement on the restoration of IDPs at their homes.”Also Read |‘I’m with you.. New dawn coming’: Modi’s reassuring word to crisis-hit ManipurPresident of All Manipur United Clubs’ Organisation (AMUCO), a prominent Meitei civil body, told HT, “Modi’s visit to Manipur failed to meet expectations and cannot be taken as remarkable for restoration of peace in the ongoing crisis.”He criticised that the PM’s visit did not fulfil any interest of the people of Manipur, especially the Meitei, who have been demanding for free movement, which was neglected in the speech. “Inaugurating or laying the foundation stones of some projects is the duty of a government. It could be Modi or someone else doing it depending on who’s in power. It appears the PM did not come with an intention to bring peace in Manipur.”Meanwhile, the Kuki-Zo communities termed the PM’s visit as historic and renewed their demand for a separate administration. The Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) submitted a memorandum in this regard to the PM in Churachandpur.“For years, we have consistently demanded complete separation from Manipur, seeking a separate administration in the form of a Union Territory with legislature under Article 239A of the Constitution of India,” the memorandum said.“This demand arises not from convenience, but from necessity—for peace, security, and survival of our people...We earnestly urge the government to expedite the political dialogue so that a lasting political solution may be achieved at the earliest,” it added.There was also reaction on the projects, of which foundation stones were laid or inaugurated by the PM.“Very disappointing to see meagre funds allocated for the Kuki-Zo. Just peanuts compared to the Meiteis and Nagas,” spokesperson for the KZC mentioned.When HT interacted with one of the visitors who came to attend the event at Imphal, he said, “Our expectation of the PM’s visit to Manipur is that his visit will bring peace and IDPs can be restored to their residences. If his visit cannot bring peace in Manipur, then people may boycott him in his next visit to Manipur.”Normal life in the state, especially in Imphal, got impacted on Saturday due to a shutdown called by the Coordination Committee (CorCom), a conglomerate of seven banned Imphal Valley-based insurgent groups, to boycott the PM’s visit.The CorCom alleged that even as the people of Manipur have been suffering extreme misery for a prolonged period, the PM did not bother to speak a single word and the government of India has been simply watching the two years and four months old Manipur crisis.The shutdown, which lasted from early Saturday till the PM left in the afternoon, affected movement of vehicles partially while most commercial establishments remained shut.Families of 34 missing persons appeal to PM for justiceSOULS (Souls Offered Unitedly for a Lustrated Society), an association of families of missing victims, submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Manipur on Saturday, seeking urgent justice and relief for 34 families whose loved ones have gone missing since the outbreak of ethnic strife in the state on May 3, 2023.The memorandum highlights the “unending trauma and hardships” faced by the victims’ families, many of whom are also internally displaced persons (IDPs). It urged the government to provide immediate relief, including “Presumed Death” certificates, compensation, and punishment for those responsible.“In Manipur, at least 34 persons, from both the Meitei and the Kuki-Zo communities, have disappeared in the past two years. Families wait in agony for closure and justice with no access to compensation or relief because they have no death certificate. Many kin of the victims are on the verge of exceeding the age bar for jobs, which shall only compound their tragedies,” the memorandum said.