DMCC accuses Central Govt of destabilizing Manipur
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, February 16 2025: The Delhi Meetei Co-Ordinating Com-mittee (DMCC) has strongly condemned the BJP and the Government at the Centre for deliberate destabilization of Manipur by imposing Presi-dent's Rule for a record 11th time.

The imposition of the President's Rule and the selective enforcement of the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) are a "pre-planned and calculated strategy" of the BJP-led Government to destabilize the strife-torn State, asserted DMCC in a statement.

The Government of India must immediately remove the President's Rule and restore democratic gover- nance in Manipur, and declare the Kuki militant organisations under Suspension of Operation as unlaw- ful organisations, it stressed.

The BJP, despite being known for its strong organisational structure, failed to elect a successor Chief Minister after the resignation of N Biren Singh.

This "deliberate inaction" left the State leaderless, paving the way for Central intervention, it said.

"Following N Biren Singh's resignation, BJP's so-called "consultation meetings" in Imphal under North East in-charge Sambit Patra were merely a political drama to mislead the public.

The BJP pretended that internal disagreements among Meetei BJP leaders were delaying the selection of a new CM, while the decision to impose President's Rule had already been made by the Central leadership," it asserted.

Since the outbreak of the violence on May 3, 2023, the BJP-led Central Government completely ignored Manipur's crisis.

Despite multiple opportunities, the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister failed to take any steps to restore peace, DMCC said.

The BJP has exposed its "hypocrisy".

A party that claims to uphold democracy has instead toppled a democratically elected Government in Manipur, despite their coalition commanding the support of 54 MLAs including those of the NPF, NPP, and JDU in the 60-Member Manipur Legislative Assembly, DMCC said.

The imposition of President's Rule when their coalition has 50+ members is "an authoritarian act aimed at fulfilling the BJP's hidden agenda," asserted the DMCC.

The Government of India has actively worked to "weaken" Manipur's governance structure.

The appointment of Ajay Kumar Bhalla, former Home Secretary, as the Governor in December 2024 is "suspicious".

Bhalla, who was appointed as Home Secretary in August 2019, played a "key role" in the division of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories [J&K and Ladakh].

His recent appointment as the Governor has raised concern about the Government of India's "true intentions" and there is an apprehension that a similar strategy may be executed in Manipur, said DMCC.

With the imposition of the President's Rule and AFSPA, Manipur has been put under a "military rule", asserted DMCC.

AFSPA is being "selectively" enforced to "target" Meeteis while "protecting" Kuki militants under the SoO agreement, it added. This is not the first time that a BJP-led Central Government has tried to destabilise Manipur, DMCC said.

In 2001, the BJP-led Central Government toppled the elected Government in Manipur and imposed President's Rule.

During this period, a peace declaration was made with an armed group.

The Manipur State Assembly was burnt down by protesters, and 18 Meeteis were killed by security forces, it added.

The DMCC then put forward a series of resolutions it took to the Centre--
1) Immediate withdrawal of President's Rule and restoration of democratic governance in Manipur
2) Declaration of all Kuki militant groups under the SoO agreement as unlawful organisations, followed by a full-scale crackdown on them
3) An end to the Government of India's "flawed Burma policy and its support for Kuki militants"
4) A fair and unbiased security policy where all armed groups responsible for violence and challenging the Indian Constitution are held accountable
5) The repeal of AFSPA and an end to the "military rule" imposed by the BJP-led Government
6) Immediate intervention by the Prime Minister to restore peace in Manipur and bring both Meetei and Kuki communities to the dialogue table
7) The removal of the Home Minister, who has failed in his responsibility to bring peace to Manipur .

The Prime Minister must take direct responsibility for resolving the crisis and immediately remove the Union Home Minister, who has failed in his duty to restore peace in Manipur, it reiterated.

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