Meitei, Kuki groups junk Centre's Manipur 'deals'

Manipur's fragile peace process buckled under renewed strain Friday as groups representing the warring Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities rejected what the Centre termed "key deals" in the journey to normalcy - one to get Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) to lift a national highway blockade and another for extending the contentious suspension of operations (SoO) agreement with two tribal militant outfits.Village Volunteers' Coordinating Committee, an influential grassroots Kuki-Zo group, declared the reopening of NH2 (Imphal-Dimapur highway) "null and void", adding to the confusion over KZC claiming on Thursday that the route had always been open to traffic.The volunteers' committee said that Meitei people were unwelcome in the Kuki-Zo territory, making any announcement regarding "free movement" on NH2 inconsequential. The waters were further muddied by coordinating committee on Manipur Integrity, which speaks for the Meiteis of Imphal Valley, criticising the tripartite SoO extension as a "deceptive and anti-people move" that allegedly legitimises Chin-Kuki armed narco-terrorist groups. The two groups with whom Union govt and the state administration have extended the agreement are Kuki National Organisation and United People's Front.COCOMI said the decision to extend the SoO amounted to undermining democratic mandates, citing a March 2023 state cabinet resolution and a unanimous Feb 2024 assembly vote to abrogate the pact. The Meitei group argued that Manipur being under President's rule, the state administration lacked the constitutional and moral authority to represent people in tripartite talks. "The decision to extend the SoO under such circumstances is illegitimate and reflects an undemocratic and hegemonic imposition on the indigenous people and elected representatives of Manipur," COCOMI said. On NH2 being reopened, it said turning citizens' free movement into a bargaining chip with armed groups violates constitutional rights and leaves the Meitei population "vulnerable".Manipur has been under President's rule since Feb 13, clamped within a week of N Biren Singh resigning as CM on Feb 9. BJP has an absolute majority in the 60-member House, but has not staked claim to form the govt. Congress has repeatedly called for fresh elections.