File picture of Manipur CM N. Biren Singh.
| Photo Credit: ANI
Ten Kuki-Zo legislators from Manipur said on Sunday (November 10, 2024) that the Centre’s submission in the Supreme Court last week that Chief Minister N. Biren Singh had met all Kuki MLAs to bring peace in the State was a blatant lie and amounted to misleading the court.
In a joint statement, the Members of the Legislative Assembly, including those from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said they had not had any meeting with the Chief Minister since May 3, 2023, nor did they intend to meet him in the future as “he was the mastermind behind the violence”.
“We, the undersigned ten MLAs, have come to know that during the Supreme Court hearing held on November 8, 2024, the Solicitor General of India submitted that ‘CM is meeting all Kuki MLAs and trying to bring the situation down to get peace’. In this connection, we hereby categorically state that this submission is a blatant lie and tantamount to misleading the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India,” the statement said.
It added that the ethnic cleansing of the Kuki-Zo people continued with the “brutal killing and burning of Zosangkim Hmar on November 7”.
“We strongly condemn the barbaric killing of a defenseless woman by the Meitei militias inspite of heavy deployment of security forces in Jiribam district. We also condemn the Solicitor General’s unprofessional conduct of submitting arguments before the Supreme Court, without cross checking the facts,” it added.
The Supreme Court, while hearing a petition by a Kuki organisation, asked that it submit audio tapes to substantiate its claim that the Chief Minister was instrumental in inciting and organising violence in the northeastern State.
Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta orally informed the court that the Chief Minister was meeting all the Kuki-Zo MLAs and that peace in the State had come at a huge cost.
Published – November 10, 2024 10:24 pm IST
