Mizoram oppn party seeks Manipur CM’s resignation; Biren Singh govt asks it focus on drug trade

Aizawl/Imphal, Nov 28 (PTI) Mizoram's main opposition party Mizo National Front (MNF) on Thursday demanded the resignation of Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh for allegedly failing to curb the ongoing ethnic violence in his state.

In response, the Manipur government issued a strong rebuttal, asking the MNF not to meddle in the internal affairs of the state and focus instead on the looming threat to Mizo society from the narcotic trade in Mizoram.

The Centre must take action to end the violence between Kuki-Zo people and Meiteis, which claimed more than 250 lives since May last year, MNF general secretary V L Krosehnehzova said in a press conference in Aizawl.

He alleged that Singh's leadership has not only failed to resolve the crisis but also perpetuated the suffering of innocents.

"We demand that Chief Minister Biren Singh step down immediately. Furthermore, the Central Government must take urgent, decisive action to end this crisis once and for all, ensuring that the people of Manipur reclaim their democratic rights and dignity," Krosehnehzova said.

The MNF media cell general secretary claimed that Singh’s inaction and misuse of power have only worsened the situation, making his continuation in the CM’s office "untenable and shameful".

The suffering inflicted upon ethnic Zo people or Mizos (Zofate) has reached intolerable levels, the MNF leader claimed.

He urged both the Mizoram government and the people of the state to continue with their efforts in extending support and humanitarian assistance to the displaced people from Manipur and refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh.

The Kuki-Zo people of Manipur share ethnic ties with the Mizos of Mizoram.

Hours later, the Manipur government issued a rebuttal, disapproving of the “constant meddling in the internal affairs of Manipur” by the MNF.

"The MNF should focus on the looming threat to Mizo society from the drugs trade… If requested by the MNF, the Government of Manipur will extend all assistance to the efforts of the State of Mizoram towards curbing drugs," an official statement issued in Imphal said.

The Manipur government described the MNF as an “anti-national party” that objects to the Centre’s efforts to fence its open borders with Myanmar for the purpose of curbing illegal immigration and trafficking of arms and drugs.

“The ongoing crisis in Manipur is the creation of illegal immigrants from Myanmar, whose economy, after illegally settling in the State, driven by cultivation of illicit poppy, had taken a severe hit by the Biren Singh government’s war on drugs,” the statement said.

Alleging that “the conflict, on the Kuki side, is funded by narco-terrorist elements", the statement said that since 2017, the Manipur government has seized or destroyed drugs worth Rs 60,000 crore in the international market. PTI COR COR NN