Guwahati: In a bid to restore peace and bring back harmony among tribal groups, legislators from both Meitei and Kuki communities are likely to meet in New Delhi on Tuesday for talks supervised by officials of the Union home ministry and mediated by the Naga legislators.
Saying that Naga MLAs have over the last 10 months met both Meitei and Kuki MLAs separately at neutral places like Kolkata and Guwahati, security sources said that this could be the first time that Kuki and Meitei MLAs have agreed to meet under the same roof.
The meeting is likely to be held at North Block in the afternoon on Tuesday. Sources in New Delhi said that it is not yet clear if Union home minister Amit Shah will take part in the proposed meeting or not. They said Shah is due to go to Haryana on Tuesday in connection with government formation in the state.
Security sources involved in the process told this newspaper: “Many legislators have already reached New Delhi. Others are scheduled to arrive by Monday. The talks are set to be held on Tuesday. We are not sure how many Kuki MLAs will be present in the meeting but have been assured that legislators from all communities will be attending the meeting.”
Pointing out that a few Kuki legislators have already shifted to New Delhi since the ethnic violence broke out, last year, the security sources said the home ministry has roped in all those legislators too to attend the meeting.
Admitting that Kuki legislators living outside the state were non-committal on attending the meeting, the security sources said officials acting as interlocutors for the peace initiative were confident of persuading them to be part of the meeting.
Three Naga MLAs — Awangbou Newmai, L. Dikho and Ram Muivah — all members of the Naga People’s Front (NPF), a key ally of the BJP in Manipur, have confirmed their attendance at the talks. Ram Muivah is already in New Delhi on personal business, the sources said. The exact number of Meitei and Kuki legislators expected to participate is yet to be finalised, though a few Meitei MLAs from the BJP have already left for the national capital, security sources said.
It is significant that since May 3, 2023, the day ethnic clashes broke out, 10 tribal MLAs, including ministers from Manipur, have left the state capital and are living in Delhi, Guwahati and Kolkata. Citing threats to their life, the MLAs have refused to enter Imphal, attend their office in the state capital, or the proceedings of the Assembly. Whenever the tribal MLAs have visited the state, they have avoided the air route from Imphal and taken the flight to Aizawl, Mizoram, and then travelled to the hill districts of Manipur by road.
The state continues to be divided on ethnic lines, with Meiteis living in valley districts while Kukis have moved back to the hill districts.
Amit Shah had on September 17 said the MHA was in talks with representatives of both communities to restore normalcy.
