Locality to assembly, divisions dog Manipur at every level

IMPHAL: Last Friday, the Manipur government, led by N Biren Singh, recommended to governor Anusuiya Uikey that the next session of the state assembly be convened on August 21

- Utpal Parashar

The governor is yet to officially convene the session but if she acquiesces, it will be the first time the assembly will be in session since ethnic violence broke out in the state on May 3, and the first time the legislators will have met since March.

But like everything else in Manipur, even its house of legislators is divided.

On Sunday, two MLAs from the Kuki People's Alliance(KPA) withdrew support from the BJP led coalition in the state. The government is in no immediate danger; the BJP alone has 37 MLAs and the coalition 52. But importantly, 10 Kuki MLAs of the 60-member house, seven from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), two from the KPA, and an independent legislator said they were all unlikely to even attend the session.

Manipur's politics is complex, particularly at this time, and there are several factors at play. But one of those factors is simply personal safety. The legislators are afraid for their lives if they step foot in the Meitei dominated Imphal valley. "There is no question of attending the session under the present circumstances. There is no guarantee of what could happen to us," one fearful KPA legislator said, requesting anonymity.

The fear is not entirely unfounded. Manipur has been in the throes of ethnic violence, close to a state of civil war, for well over three months. Over 160 people have lost their lives, over 300 are injured, and over 50,000 have been displaced from their homes. Political leaders have not been spared, even those from the ruling party. On May 4, Vungzagin Valte, a Kuki BJP MLA was brutally assaulted by a mob in Imphal on his way home from a meeting with Chief Minister Biren Singh. He had to be airlifted to Delhi for treatment, and is yet to return to the state. On June 14, a mob set on fire the home of Nemcha Kipgen, the only female minister in the state cabinet and a Kuki, in Imphal West. Kipgen, fortunately, was away from Imphal when the 7 mob arrived at her door.