This Article is From Aug 17, 2023

Kuki MLAs Write To PM, Want Separate Top Officials For Tribal Districts

Manipur Violence: The five districts for which they have raised this demand are Churachandpur, Kangpokpi, Chandel, Tengnoupal, and Pherzawl.

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India News Reported by , Edited by
New Delhi:

Ten MLAs from the Kuki tribe have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking for a separate chief secretary and DGP for the Kuki-tribe-dominated hills areas in Manipur.

The 10 Kuki MLAs, including seven from the BJP, submitted a memorandum to PM Modi on Wednesday, requesting that "posts equivalent to Chief Secretary and DGP" be established in the five hill districts of the state to ensure "efficient administration" in the wake of the state's three-month ethnic violence.

The five districts for which they have raised this demand are Churachandpur, Kangpokpi, Chandel, Tengnoupal, and Pherzawl.

"The IAS, MCS, IPS and MPS officers belonging to the Kuki-Zo tribes have been unable to function and discharge their duties as Imphal valley has also become a valley of death for us," the MLAs stated in the memorandum.

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Earlier, the 10 MLAs had urged PM Modi to set up a separate administration for the tribal areas of Manipur.

Most Kuki MLAs, regardless of party affiliation, are unlikely to attend the Manipur assembly session starting on August 21, citing ongoing ethnic violence.

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COCOMI, a Meitei body that has been leading calls for an early assembly session to unanimously reject demands for separate administrative units for Kukis, said it would ensure the safety of tribal MLAs if they choose to attend.

Over 180 people have been killed and thousands have been displaced in the ongoing ethnic violence between the Kuki and Meitei communities. The violence erupted on May 3 over the Meiteis' demand for Scheduled Tribes (ST) status.
 

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