Imphal: Infiltrators from across the border and militants have caused the ongoing unrest in Manipur and it is not an enmity between two communities, said Chief Minister N. Biren Singh on Thursday.
Manipur shares around 400 km of unfenced border with Myanmar.
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Condemning the Tuesday night firing incident in Imphal East district in which many people were gunned down and several injured, Chief Minister Singh said that the incident was an act of terrorism.
“Security forces have launched a massive combing operation to nab the perpetrators in Urangpat and Yaingangpokpi areas. We would take stern action against the culprit as per the law,” Singh told the media.
He said that all the ministers and MLAs are visiting the districts and are in touch with people and various organisations to restore peace and normalcy while the Peace Committee headed by Governor Anusuiya Uikey would also begin its work soon.
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Singh once again rejected the demand for separate administrations (equivalent to a separate state) for the tribals as demanded by the 10 Kuki MLAs (including seven of the BJP).
“Anyone can make a demand in a democracy, it is their democratic right. We have said on a number of occasions that there would be no separate administration and the territorial integrity of the state would remain intact,” Singh said.
Earlier the Manipur government had apprised the Centre that three Kuki militant outfits — the Kuki National Army (KNA), Zomi Revolutionary Army (ZRA) and Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA) — are not adhering to ground rules of the tripartite Suspension of Operation (SoO) agreement, signed on August 22, 2008.
Chief Minister Singh earlier on a number of occasions accused the Kuki militants of instigating violence and prompting the tribals to agitate against the government’s actions against illegal poppy cultivation and drug menace.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah after his four-day (May 29 to June 1) Manipur visit warned the Kuki militants to adhere to the ground rules otherwise they would face severe action.