GUWAHATI: The BJP-led Manipur government has strongly criticised the Mizo National Front (MNF), describing it as an anti-national party following the latter’s call for Chief Minister N. Biren Singh’s resignation.
On Thursday, the MNF, Mizoram’s principal opposition party, accused Singh’s leadership of failing to resolve the ongoing crisis in Manipur and perpetuating the suffering of innocent people.
In response, the Manipur government condemned what it termed the MNF’s “constant meddling” in Manipur’s internal affairs.
“The Mizoram-based political party, whose Chief Minister (Zoramthanga) was routed in the last state Assembly elections, despite riding on a shrill wave of anti-national pro-Myanmar refugee propaganda and anti-Manipur stance, has come out with a press statement calling [for the] resignation of [the] Chief Minister of Manipur,” a statement from the Manipur government said.
The statement went on to allege that the MNF has “consistently revealed its true colours as an anti-national party” by opposing the central government’s efforts to secure the porous border with Myanmar.
“The ongoing crisis in Manipur is a creation of illegal immigrants from Myanmar whose economy, which is driven by cultivation of illicit poppy, had taken a severe hit under Chief Minister N. Biren Singh’s War on Drugs,” the government’s statement read.
“It is not on account of any religious policy of the state government, as has been falsely portrayed by the MNF and other vested interests, even on foreign soil and in various international fora, through fabricated narratives. The Mizo National Front appears to have also conveniently forgotten that the conflict, on the Kuki side, is funded by narco-terrorist elements,” it further stated.
The Manipur government highlighted data on village proliferation to underline its argument, stating that the number of villages in certain Kuki-dominated districts of the state—Kangpokpi, Tengnoupal, Chandel, Churachandpur, and Pherzawl—had increased abnormally by 122% from 1969 to date, rising from 731 to 1,624.
“In contrast, during the same period, the number of villages in Naga-dominated hill districts such as Tamenglong, Noney, Senapati, Ukhrul, and Kamjong rose by only 49, from 527 to 576,” it said.
The government questioned the MNF’s awareness of the reasons behind the significant rise in Kuki-dominated villages, many of which are located in forest areas.
“Is the Mizo National Front aware of the reasons behind this abnormal 122% increase in the mushrooming of villages, many of which are in forest areas, in the first group of hill districts, which are Kuki dominated, or [have] a sizeable Kuki population?” the statement queried.
The Manipur government warned of a larger geopolitical agenda aimed at creating a Kuki-Chin nation, encompassing parts of Myanmar, India, and Bangladesh.
“We must be wary of the greater agenda of carving a Kuki-Chin nation out of contiguous areas of Myanmar, India, and Bangladesh, played out over decades of meticulous planning, through illegal immigration, land grabbing, displacement of original indigenous peoples, formation of Kuki-Chin dominated districts, establishment of autonomous district councils, upgradation of such councils to Scheduled Areas, amalgamation of Kuki-Chin areas, and finally Nationhood,” the statement said.
The government reaffirmed its commitment to preserving the integrity of the Northeast and vowed to oppose any efforts to fragment the region.
“The Manipur government will not allow the fragmentation of the Northeast at the behest of foreign vested interests, either in Manipur or in its neighbourhood,” it asserted.