Mokokchung, 30 June (MTNews): In a scathing statement, the Rising People’s Party (RPP) has accused Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh of conducting an “insidious but calculated” operation known as the “Manipur Experiment.” The party alleged that the operation aimed to drive out every single Kuki residing in the Imphal Valley, resulting in widespread violence that broke out on 3 May.
According to the party’s statement, the “Manipur Experiment” also burnt down almost every Kuki village in the foothills surrounding the Imphal Valley with the help of armed Meitei extremists resulting in tens of thousands of Kukis living in and around the Imphal Valley becoming refugees in Nagaland, Mizoram, Churachandpur, Guwahati, Delhi and elsewhere.
Furthermore, the Rising People’s Party claimed that the RSS-Biren experiment to sanitize the Imphal valley was so well orchestrated that not only the Kukis but the churches were affected as well. “According to reports, hundreds of Meitei churches have been burnt down in Imphal Valley alone, besides the hundreds of Kuki churches burnt down in the valley and the surrounding foothills,” RPP said.
The party speculated that “perhaps this is the reason why the Prime Minister Modi has been keeping silent till date – until the experiment had reached its logical conclusion.”
With the agenda of a “Greater Meitei-Land” supposedly achieved, – encompassing the foothill areas belonging to the fleeing Kukis – the resignation of Chief Minister Biren Singh is seen as a mere façade to showcase the central government’s commitment to restoring normalcy in Manipur, it said.
The RPP also expressed concern that the “Manipur Experiment” could have adverse implications for the Nagas in Manipur, even if they aren’t the affected party now. “Meitei extremism – under the shelter of state patronage, will not stop on the doorsteps of Kukis, and it’s direly important for them to raise their voice,” it urged.
Strongly condemning the “ethnic cleansing of Kukis by the Manipur government,” the Rising People’s Party “beyond any reasonable doubt” asserted that Chief Minister Biren Singh and Meitei extremists had been planning the “Manipur Experiment” for a long time. The party suggested that “this also explains how thousands of Kuki houses in Imphal Valley were immediately identified, even in mixed colonies, and burnt down on the 4th May, only a day after trouble started on the 3rd May.”
“After this ethnic cleansing of tribals, it’s crystal clear that the three ethnic groups of Manipur, the Nagas, Kukis and Meiteis cannot live together. There can be only one solution in Manipur – a bifurcation for all the 3 ethnic groups with executive, legislative and financial powers for the Nagas and Kukis” the RPP asserted.