Manipur’s Kuki-Zo insurgent groups, MLAs say they will participate in elected govt only if…

The tenure of the current Assembly ends in 2027.

At a key meeting of Kuki-Zo insurgent groups and MLAs from the community held in Guwahati on Tuesday, participants resolved on a set of “pre-requisites” for participation in a new popular government in the state, primarily a written “political commitment” by the state and central governments on a separate Union Territory for Kuki-Zo-majority areas of the state.

According to the minutes of the meeting, the demand for a separate Union Territory with a legislature was reiterated by participants, who also resolved that the settlement “must be finalised and signed before the expiration of the normal tenure of the current Legislative Assembly of the state”. The tenure of the current Assembly ends in 2027.

The meeting in Guwahati was attended by representatives of the insurgent groups, which are signatories to the Suspension of Operation (SoO) agreements with the Centre and the Manipur government; MLAs from the community; and the civil society organisation, Kuki-Zo Council. It came ahead of an upcoming meeting between the SoO groups and officials of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.

Regarding the restoration of a popular government in the state, which has been under President’s Rule for nearly a year now, the minutes said, “The new government must provide a written commitment to support the negotiated political settlement for UT with Legislature under the Constitution. This commitment must be executed in a time-bound manner, specifically within the current Assembly tenure… In the absence of such political commitment from both the central and state governments, the meeting resolves to respect the political will of the people by refraining from taking any part in the formation of an elected government in Manipur.”

This comes weeks after the BJP’s top brass held a crucial meeting with party MLAs from Manipur on December 14, bringing both Kuki and Meitei legislators under one roof to build engagement between representatives from both communities — a prerequisite, leaders believe, for any credible move towards government formation. Four of the seven Kuki-Zo BJP MLAs are learnt to have participated in this meeting.

This comes against the backdrop of sustained pressure from Manipur’s Meitei and Naga NDA legislators to replace President’s Rule with an elected government. There has been a question mark over whether the Kuki-Zo MLAs, who have been supporting the demand for a separate Union Territory and had completely rejected engagement with the then Biren Singh-led Manipur government before the imposition of President’s Rule, would join a new popular state government.

Manipur has a total of 60 Assembly constituencies, of which 10 are represented by Kuki-Zo MLAs.