Shutdown disrupts life in Manipur’s Churachandpur as tribal groups protest role of Kuki-Zo MLAs in govt formation

Imphal: Normal life in Manipur’s Churachandpur district was badly affected on Friday as several tribal organisations observed a total shutdown in the Kuki-Zo inhabited hill district to protest the participation and involvement of MLAs from their community in the formation of the state government, officials said.

Protest rallies were also organised on Friday on the same issue in Tengnoupal and other mountainous districts of the state. A police official in Imphal said that agitators, holding sticks, stopped vehicles in parts of Churachandpur district headquarters town.

Government and private offices, shops, markets, banks and educational institutions remained closed, and vehicles stayed off the roads.

The Kuki Students’ Organisation (KSO), Kuki Women Organisation for Human Rights (KWOHR), Joint Forum of Seven (JF7) and a few other Kuki-Zo tribal organisations called the 24-hour total shutdown in Churachandpur district headquarters.

The situation remained tense in the district, and a huge contingent of additional security forces was deployed across the district and other hill districts.

The KSO and KWOHR also organised a mass protest rally on Friday afternoon to oppose the participation and involvement of Kuki-Zo MLAs in the formation of the government.

On Thursday evening, clashes broke out between a mob and security forces at Tuibong Bazaar and forest gate areas, leading to a baton charge and the firing of tear gas shells by security forces to disperse the mob.

At least five people were injured after the mob clashed with security forces.

According to a police official in Imphal, protesters, mostly youths, torched heaps of discarded materials and burnt tyres while raising slogans against Deputy Chief Minister Nemcha Kipgen, a BJP MLA belonging to the Kuki-Zo community.

The situation escalated when central and state security forces attempted to disperse the crowd. The mob initially outnumbered the security personnel and resorted to heavy stone-pelting, prompting the forces to carry out a baton charge to bring the situation under control.

Additional security personnel were later deployed in the trouble-hit areas to prevent further escalation. Intermittent clashes continued till 3 a.m. on Friday morning. The situation remains highly tense, with senior security officials rushing to the area to oversee efforts to restore normalcy, the official added.

Tensions have been simmering in Churachandpur district since Wednesday evening (February 4) after Nemcha Kipgen, who hails from Kangpokpi district, virtually took oath as Deputy Chief Minister from Manipur Bhavan in New Delhi.

Kipgen is the lone woman in the Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh ministry which assumed office on Wednesday. Three of the ten MLAs from the Kuki-Zo community — Nemcha Kipgen, L.M. Khaute and Ngursanglur Sanate — have so far been involved in the government formation process.

Of the ten Kuki-Zo MLAs, seven, including Kipgen, Khaute and Sanate, belong to the BJP, while the remaining three are affiliated with local Kuki-Zo organisations.

Kipgen, Khaute and Sanate virtually attended the seventh session of the 12th Manipur Legislative Assembly on Thursday.

Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla and Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh addressed the session. The Chief Minister underscored that restoring peace and normalcy in the violence-hit state is a collective responsibility of all stakeholders, including elected representatives.

The Governor said that maintaining law and order remains the foremost priority of the government, as efforts continue to restore normalcy and ensure public safety across the state.

Meanwhile, the Kuki-Zo Council (KZC), the apex body of the Kuki-Zo tribal community, on Thursday declared a social boycott of all Kuki-Zo MLAs who participated in or were involved in the formation of the Manipur government.

-ANS