Reschedule polls in Manipur : DMCC
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, April 03 2024: The Delhi Meitei Coordinating Committee has written to the Chief Election Commissioner, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Chief Justice of the High Court of Manipur and Chief Electoral Officer Manipur to defer the 18th Lok Sabha election in Manipur which has been scheduled on April 19 and April 26 'till an opportune time prevails in the State' .

The representation was submitted on April 1 .

DMCC is a conglomeration of various Meetei organisations such as Delhi Meetei Forum (DMF), Delhi Meitei, Liklam Ngakpa, Sanamahi Laining, Eram-dam Manipur, International Meetei Organisation and others.

DMCC, in a statement, stated that the Kuki militants have 'surprisingly' stopped attacking Meiteis after the announcement of the dates of the Lok Sabha election and it clearly indicates that the atrocities of the Kuki were politically motivated 'under the protection of Suspension of Operation (SoO) pact' .

The postponement of the Lok Sabha election is a prerequisite as the election has brought relative peace in the State, the Committee reasoned.

Stating that ongoing crisis in Manipur has caused immense physical, psychological, economic and political damages to various sections of the people, the DMCC continued that 221 people have been killed in the course of the violence which included 101 Meiteis, 114 Kukis and six others while numerous people were injured and many others are missing.

The Committee went on to state that thousands of houses and hundreds of Meitei Temples and Churches have either been burnt or destroyed in the course of the violence while thousands of people are still taking refuge at relief camps.

Many people have lost their jobs and the price hike of goods and essentials has compounded the woes of the masses, the Committee said and claimed that farmers couldn't plant anything in over 5127 hectares of paddy field due to constant attacks by Kuki militants.

The DMCC went on to say that several groups and organisations have taken a resolution to boycott the Lok Sabha elections apart from condemning the poll process amid the crisis.

People have been compelled to fend for themselves as the State has completely failed to protect life, liberties and the properties of the people, the Committee maintained and added that about 3500 arms and a huge amount of ammunition looted from police station in both the hill and valley districts are still with the people 'for self defence' as per media reports.

It is doubtful that the election will be free and fair, the DMCC said, referring to the attacks on Congress candidate for Outer Constituency Alfred K Arthur at Ukhrul.

Stating that Kuki militants carried out heavy attacks at several Meetei villages in the periphery areas in January and February 2024 too, the DMCC said that the attack, however , stopped after the dates of the Lok Sabha elections were announced.

Stating that the situation is not conducive to hold the Lok Sabha election at the moment, the DMCC appealed to all concerned to reschedule the election.

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