Who ordered army to stop MST bus: AMUCO
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, May 20 2025: Asking who ordered the army (Mahar Regiment) to stop Manipur State Transport (MST) bus carrying journalists at Gwaltabi, the All Manipur United Clubs' Organisation (AMUCO) has demanded the State Government officials to come out with a convincing clarification if any one of them gave the order.

If any or some top official(s) of the State Government instructed the army to stop the MST bus, it must be concluded that they don't know the territorial boundary of Manipur and have limited knowledge of the protracted crisis besieging the State, AMUCO said in a statement.

It would be prudent for the official who gave particular the order to leave Manipur on his/own volition, AMUCO said.

Recently Chief Secretary PK Singh made an announcement that all necessary security arrangements have been put in place under the supervision of the Governor for safe movement of people to the Shirui Lily Festival 2025 .

The Chief Secretary stated that the Governor himself was putting up at Ukhrul and personally supervising all arrangements to avoid any disturbance to the five day festival (May 20 to 25), it remarked.

It then questioned as to why security forces stopped a team of journalists at Gwaltabi who were travelling to Ukhrul to cover the opening ceremony of the Shirui Lily Festival.

The incident at Gwaltabi has created a serious issue.

The Governor, the Chief Secretary, the Security Advisor and the DGP should bear responsibility for the same, AMUCO asserted.

They are not here to govern Manipur.

They are here to create disturbances and heighten tension.

As such, the people of Manipur need not put any faith in them nor should people cooperate with them, it said.

The MST bus carrying journalists to Shirui belongs to the Government of India and the route as well as the destination are all parts of Manipur.

The insistence by troops of Mahar Regiment to remove or cover up the words "Manipur State Transport" painted on the bus only reflected a deep-rooted conspiracy of the Government of India to fragment Manipur.

The particular incident has proven to be a serious setback to the Shirui Lily Festival.

As the particular incident has deeply hurt the people, nobody is sure what will unfold in the coming days, AMUCO said.

AMUCO has also hailed the media fraternity for their collective decision to fight for the freedom of press and against other challenges to their profession.

It also pledged support to the line of action taken up by the media fraternity with regard to the Gwaltabi incident.

AMUCO has urged the MST authority to initiate legal action against Mahar Regiment for stopping the MST bus from plying within Manipur and threatening the driver.

DIPR too should take up necessary legal action for it was DIPR which took the media team to Shirui only to be dropped midway, it said.

The contention that Manipur cannot be embossed on the bus plying within Manipur not only challenges the Constitution but also severely undermines the Government authority, it remarked.

AMUCO has vehemently condemned the PR Government's failure to take prompt action against the erring Mahar Regiment personnel.

Saying that the Government of India's alleged secret plan to break apart Manipur has now come out in the open, AMUCO has called upon all the people to take a firm resolution to fight all such diabolic agenda collectively.

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