Kuki-Zo MLAs express hope for peace in Manipur after President rule

Kuki-Zo MLAs in Manipur hope for central government's comprehensive political roadmap for peace and justice post President's rule.

Kuki-Zo MLAs of Manipur have expressed hope that the central government would lay out a “comprehensive political roadmap” for peace and justice, following the imposition of the President's rule in the strife-torn State.

In a joint statement, 10 MLAs – seven BJP legislators, two Kuki Peoples’ Alliance MLAs and one independent – stated that they also look forward to measures to end the sufferings of those affected by the ethnic conflict and internally displaced.

“We... while acknowledging the Centre’s decision to place the Assembly under Suspended Animation express hope that the Government of India would lay out a comprehensive political roadmap for peace and justice under a negotiated settlement,” the statement said.

President's rule was imposed in Manipur on Thursday and the State Assembly put under suspended animation, days after Chief Minister N Biren Singh resigned from his post.

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“We also look forward to time-bound measures to end the sufferings that the conflict affected and internally displaced people continue to undergo,” the MLAs said.

The ethnic violence in Manipur, which began in May 2023, saw brutal clashes between the majority Meitei community in the Imphal Valley and the Kuki-Zo tribal groups in the surrounding hills, resulting in over 250 deaths besides displacing thousands of people.