New Delhi
Shortly after returning home from visit to the US and Egypt, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, June 26, met senior ministers including Home Minister Amit Shah and took stock of the situation in violence-hit Manipur.
Modi also held a separate meeting with the Home Minister and the BJP central leadership did not favour any 'immediate change' of Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh.
The saffron party and the centre want to jointly focus on improving the situation and bringing in normalcy at the earliest. The change of leadership in the state is not being considered yet.
Sources said "the changing nature of violence in Manipur" is being reviewed at various levels both in the state and in New Delhi. There is a general sense of 'civil unrest' in the state in last few weeks chiefly in Meitei-dominated valley region while when the violence started it was confined to arms loot and exchange of fire in the hills and regions 'outside' the valley areas.
Prime Minister Modi chaired a meeting also attended by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and the Centre decided to ensure adequate and smooth distribution of essential commodities and petrol and cooking gas for the people.
The BJP leaders feel it may be unwise to change Chief Minister at this juncture as Biren Singh was being considered a 'popular Meitei leader'.
The centre will want to avoid any situation where there is any 'polarisation among Meiteis'. Sources said the NPP led by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma has threatened to to reconsider its ties with the BJP if the situation did not improve.
On the eve of Prime Minister 's visit to the US, eight BJP MLAs including among Meitei leaders in a memorandum to the Prime Minister’s Office had demanded replacement of Biren Singh and had stated that the people "have lost complete faith in the present state government”.
The Biren Singh-regime was also said to taken a number of measures in last two years for crackdown on poppy cultivation and the narcotics lobby. The CBI is already investigating the conspiracy angle for the unprecedented ethnic conflicts while a judicial probe is also on. Thousands have been rendered homeless and about 120 people have lost their lives since the violence began on May 3.
Chief Minister Biren Singh has said that since June 13 there is no casualty in the state though things are chaotic at various levels.
Parliament session: Centre to take steps for political Solution & Eastern Nagaland
Crucial actions and political moves are likely in the next few weeks in the run up to the Monsoon session of Parliament with regard to the violence-hit northeastern region in general and particularly Manipur and Nagaland.
With Lok Sabha polls not far off, politically and constitutionally 'important matters' related to these two states might have to be taken by the Centre during the ensuing Monsoon session of Parliament.
Thus, things may be still burning in Manipur and the central government and other authorities including beleaguered Chief Minister N Biren Singh have been forced to work overtime to calm the violent atmosphere, on the other hand things are at flux in neighbouring NDPP-BJP ruled Nagaland.
On June 30, Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio and other top functionaries will meet at Kohima to discuss the provisions of granting an autonomous body to seven tribes of Eastern Nagaland. All eyes are on the June 30 consultative meeting convened by the Nagaland Home department at Kohima to deliberate on the "provisions" of the proposed proposal of the Government of India for constitution of an “Autonomous Council” for the six eastern districts– Tuensang, Mon, Longleng, Kiphire, Shamator and Noklak.
The seven tribes from the region - Konyaks, Sangtams, Changs, Phoms, Khiamniungans, Yimchungrus and Tikhirs are demanding creation of Frontier Nagaland Territory as an autonomous body with adequate financial powers. In 2022 December these tribes had stayed away from the state government sponsored annual tourism extravaganza of Hornbill Festival hosted in the state capital Kohima.
The Eastern Nagaland Public Organisation (ENPO) leaders had met Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla in Delhi last week and reportedly made forward movement in the discussions in the process of creation of the new body.
Analysts feel an early Peace and Solution Agreement between Naga militant organisations and the centre and creation of an autonomous council for Eastern Nagaland bordering Myanmar will be two crucial moves from Delhi by the time Parliament is convened for the monsoon session.
Under law, the state assembly's resolution favouring creation of an autonomous body will be required and June 30 deliberation could lay the foundation for the same.
"Solution to the Indo-Naga problem is the only answer to the perennial burden on the people. I remind the Naga public and leaders at all level to seriously pursue and assist in salvaging our history and identity," said M B Neokpao Konyak of NSCN-Unification on March 21 (Naga Republic Day) at their designated camp at Khehoyi near Dimapur.
The NSCN-Unification led by Neokpao Konyak and N Kitovi Zhimomi is the principal force behind NNPG which is all for an early signing of a final peace pact with the Govt of India. Kitovi is the convener of the NNPG.
A hard-hitting statement from NNPG on June 25 also could be seen from a greater perspective. The NNPG in a strongly worded article given to local newspapers has said that, "It is quite remorseful to observe the Nagaland state Government and few self serving Naga Civil Societies giving themselves lofty names, continue to connive with venomous elements to obstruct and sabotage the Indo-Naga political solution.
This collaboration is to politically and economically ravage the land and people all together and cling on to power".
Notably on ‘International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking’, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said: “In the last few years, the MHA has revamped the entire strategy to realize PM Modi Ji’s vision of a ‘drug-free India’. Braced with the power of a whole-of-government approach, India dealt the mightiest blow to the narcotics trade".
Even as no mention was made about crackdown on narcotic trades and poppy cultivation in Manipur, Shah said the top-to-bottom approach to the investigation led to massive crackdowns on the evil.
Sources quoting reports from various agencies including from the BJP government in Imphal say there have been growing involvement of some armed groups in the poppy business. Hence, the nexus of the drug mafia is not ruled out in an atmosphere wherein there is large scale starvation for cash.
Demonestisation in 2016, overall post-Covind economic crisis and GST in 2017 and introduction of digital payments by the Modi government have affected the 'cash business' of militant groups across the north east region. Hence, involvement of some groups in money spinning poppy business is certainly a strong possibility.
In January 2023, the Manipur government had submitted a report to the centre and therein it spoke about the need for combining the 'War on Drugs' campaign along with the anti-deforestation drive especially in areas of poppy cultivation.
It is also mentioning that on June 26, Monday, influential tribal organisation -- Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF), which has been demanding imposition of President’s rule in Manipur, rejected any offer of dialogue with Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh or his government .
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