New Delhi/Imphal, August 7 (IANS): A day before the tribal leaders’ meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi to press for their demand for creation of a separate state for tribals, the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), apex body of the Meitei community, on Monday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to divide Manipur and to introduce the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
The COCOMI submitted its memorandum to the Prime Minister’s Office highlighting the resolutions adopted in the mass rally held on July 29 in Imphal.
The other demands of the COCOMI include an end to the present ethnic conflict, and eliminating foreign (illegal immigrants) and Chin-Kuki "narco-terrorism".
After submitting the memorandum in the PMO, COCOMI coordinator Jeetendra Ningomba, in a video message, claimed that the foreign elements, including some of the leaders of the Kuki-Zomi outfits with which Suspension of Operation pacts were signed, are directly involved in the Manipur conflict and they should either be eliminated or pushed out of the territory of India.
"To identify illegal immigrants, the NRC must be implemented in the state with 1951 as the base year. This is to deprive illegal immigrants from being citizens though they may continue to stay as guests, if necessary, without indulging in destructive politics by creating concocted history and bombarding the media and seeking support from the left liberals to achieve what is known as a Kuki-Zomi nation (Zalengam) comprising areas from three countries," the memorandum said.
The COCOMI said that the conflict can only be inferred to be pre-planned as tension started building up from April 27 after an open gym to be inaugurated by the Manipur Chief Minister was vandalised.
