United Naga Council calls for social boycott of Congress MP, 2 independent LS candidates in Manipur
Guwahati: The United Naga Council (UNC), an apex body of Nagas in Manipur, on Saturday asked for social boycott of newly elected Congress MP Alfred Kanngam Arthur and two independent candidates from the Outer Manipur Lok Sabha constituency.
Stating that they failed to respect and honour the position of the UNC in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections the UNC in a resolution said that they should be boycotted from public platforms and holding any position or leadership in Naga society for a period of seven years with immediate effect.
It is significant that before the Lok Sabha election, the Naga body had announced support for a consensus Naga candidate identified by the apex body for the Outer Manipur constituency. However, the three candidates were against this decision and decided to contest the election despite the decision of the UNC.
Four candidates contested from the Outer Manipur constituency in the recent Lok Sabha polls: Alfred Kanngam Arthur as the Congress candidate, Alyson Abonmai and S Kho John as independent candidates, and Kachui Timothy Zimik as the Naga People’s Front (NPF) candidate. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) did not contest in Outer Manipur but supported the regional party NPF. Alfred Kanngam Arthur won the seat with a margin of 85,418 votes against his nearest rival Kachui Timothy Zimik.
In a public notification the UNC’s secretary of information and publicity, H James Hau said that the newly elected Congress MP Arthur, along with two independents, has been socially boycotted for a period of seven years from the date of issue of the notification.
The decision was taken according to the resolution adopted by the Naga apex body in its emergency assembly held on May 29 at Town Hall, Panchai, Chandel district, Manipur.
The notification also mentioned that the three individuals, S Kho John of the Poumai tribe, Allyson Abonmai of the Liangmai tribe, and Alfred Kanngam Arthur of the Tangkhul tribe failed to respect and honour the position of the United Naga Council in the Lok Sabha election. The Poumai, Liangmai, and Tangkhul tribes are sub-tribes of the Naga.
The three individuals’ willful attempt to challenge the Naga people’s position has resulted in their being debarred from public platforms, it added.
The body further cautioned all the constituent units, subordinate/associate units of the council, and the Naga populace to uphold the resolution of the UNC and enforce it accordingly in their respective jurisdictions.
