GUWAHATI: Kuki organisation Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM) on Thursday opposed the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the violence-hit state, protesting the alleged exclusion of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from the community.
KIM said the SIR exercise in Manipur was unacceptable under the prevailing circumstances and it raised serious concerns regarding fairness, inclusivity, and administrative responsibility.
The organisation said it had expected the government to first put in place adequate and practical arrangements to address the situation of around 59,000 Kuki-Zo IDPs, who continued to remain displaced and were unable to return to their homes to participate in the SIR exercise.
“Proceeding with such a critical electoral and administrative exercise without ensuring the participation of a large and vulnerable section of the population undermines the very principles of democratic representation. The exclusion, whether direct or indirect, of these IDPs from the SIR process renders the exercise incomplete and unacceptable in its present form,” KIM stated in a statement.
According to the organisation, it is imperative that the government, along with the concerned district administrations, take immediate and concrete steps to establish accessible and inclusive mechanisms that will enable all affected IDPs to be duly enrolled and participate in the revision process.
“Any continuation of the SIR without such provisions would not only be unjust but would also call into question the legitimacy and credibility of the entire exercise,” KIM said.
It added that “satisfactory arrangements” had to be made by the concerned authorities to ensure that no displaced person was left out of the process.
The SIR exercise in three states of the Northeast – Manipur, Mizoram and Sikkim – began last week.
According to government estimates, the ethnic violence between Kukis and Meiteis, which erupted on May 3, 2023, had internally displaced over 60,000 people from both communities.