IMPHAL: Former union minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram has claimed that last of the Kuki families in Imphal valley of Manipur were “forcibly removed from their homes by the authorities”.
“According to a report in The Hindu, the last five Kuki families in Imphal were forcibly removed from their homes by the authorities,” said Congress leader P Chidambaram in a post on X.
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The Congress leader further claimed that the Biren Singh-led BJP government in Manipur is presiding over an “ethnic cleansing” of tribals in the Northeast state.
“This means that ‘ethnic cleansing’ is complete in the Imphal Valley (in Manipur) that is dominated by the Meitei people,” said Chidambaram.
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He added: “A state government presides over ‘ethnic cleansing’ and the central government claims that the government of the state is being carried on in accordance with the Constitution.”
The veteran Congress leader termed the reported incident of alleged eviction of the Kuki families from their homes in the Imphal valley as ‘shameful’.
“It marks a new low in India’s descent into lawlessness,” said Chidambaram.
According to a Hindustan Times report, at least 24 Kuki residents were allegedly evicted from their homes in the Meitei-dominated Imphal on Friday (September 01) night by security officials citing concerns over their safety, two of the residents said in a statement on Saturday (September 02).
The last of 10 Kuki families comprising 24 members from Imphal’s New Lambulane area have been shifted to a ‘safe zone’ in Kuki-dominated Kangpokpi district of Manipur.