Amit Shah meets Manipur CM Khemchand in Delhi, says he will visit state later this month

Union home minister Amit Shah on Thursday met Manipur chief minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh in New Delhi, with the latter briefing him on the steps taken by the state government to restore peace and normalcy amid ongoing ethnic tensions.

Shah also told Khemchand that he would visit Manipur later this month, according to the chief minister’s office.

HT had reported on Thursday that Khemchand and deputy CM Nemcha Kipgen, who had come to Delhi, were holding meetings with senior leaders and had other meetings scheduled.

“Manipur CM Yumnam Khemchand Singh today called on Union Home Minister Amit Shah at his official residence in New Delhi.During the meeting, the Chief Minister apprised the Union Home Minister of the measures taken up by the State Government for restoring peace and normalcy in the State. The CM informed the Union Home Minister that the State Government has succeeded in resuming the Imphal-Dimapur-Guwahati bus service, which has brought much-needed relief to the common people,” the statement said.

CM Khemchand also held separate meetings with Union ministers Nitin Gadkari and Mansukh Mandaviya.

The state has been roiled by Naga-Kuki clashes and the demand for the NRC exercise, because of which the census has also been postponed.

The ethnic clashes in Manipur first began between the Meitei and Kuki communities before involving almost every community. The state’s Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities have shut each other out from the areas they dominate since the ethnic clashes began in May 2023, leaving at least 260 people dead and displacing 60,000.

The fight is not restricted to just people on the ground. The state’s two deputy chief ministers, representing the Naga and Kuki communities, are not on speaking terms amid the ongoing Naga-Kuki clashes.

In fact, during the assembly session last month, Naga MLAs boycotted the proceedings, refusing to share space with Kipgen, who joined the session virtually as she is yet to visit Imphal amid the unresolved Kuki-Meitei conflict.

Dikho and eight other Naga MLAs on September 1 wrote to Shah seeking action against Kipgen and her husband, alleging they were colluding with Kuki militant groups and hampering the peace process. In an interview with HT last month, Kipgen denied the allegations and said she had worked to resolve the tension between the communities.

The Naga-Kuki tensions intensified following the twin ambushes on May 13 that left four people, including three church leaders, dead. In the aftermath of the ambushes, 48 people were taken hostage, triggering protests, shutdowns and a blockade along all three national highways in the state.

The Meiteis, mostly Hindu, live largely in the Imphal Valley. The Kukis, predominantly Christian, reside in the hills. The state government has maintained that there are no buffer zones dividing communities in the state, but it has identified certain sensitive areas.

A new government was formed in February, nearly a year after the imposition of President’s Rule. It includes representatives from all three major communities as part of an attempt to maintain ethnic balance.