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Imphal, October 10 (IANS) Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Friday said his National People’s Party (NPP) is working to resolve the issues affecting the people of Manipur and restore lasting peace and normalcy in the state.
CM Sangma, who is also the NPP national president, reached Manipur capital Imphal on Thursday and held several meetings with party leaders, MLAs, various civil society organizations (CSOs) and Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla to discuss the prevailing situation in the violence-hit state.
The NPP supremo clearly said that her party does not support the demand for a separate administration for the Kuki-Zo tribal communities.
CM Sangma told the media, “We never support any demand for division of Manipur or separate administration. We always urge all communities to sit at the table and resolve the issues through dialogue.”
Since the outbreak of caste violence in Manipur in May 2023, almost all Kuki-Zo organizations and ten MLAs, including seven BJP MLAs belonging to Kuki-Zo tribal communities, have been demanding a separate administration, such as a Union Territory with a single assembly.
CM Sangma said that NPP is the only national political party which truly works for the interests of the people of the North-Eastern region.
The Meghalaya Chief Minister said, “We are not a high-command-based party. We formulate our policies and strategies keeping the interests of the people and the region as our topmost priority and not the interests of a political party.”
He said the NPP is the voice of the eight north-eastern states and has now spread across the region.
The NPP, which has organizational base and MLAs in Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh apart from Meghalaya, won seven seats in the 2023 Manipur Assembly elections.
In Meghalaya, BJP supports the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government led by CM Sangma with two MLAs. He clarified that although the NPP had earlier met Chief Minister N. Biren Singh had withdrawn its support to the BJP government in Manipur due to its alleged failure to handle the crisis, but the party remains a partner of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
“We are with the BJP-led NDA and the various governments in the North-Eastern region and we will remain with the NDA,” the NPP national president said.
He said that NPP always listens to the voice of the people and works sincerely to serve the area.
Referring to his meeting with Governor Bhalla on Thursday, Sangma said he discussed the suggestions received from various leaders, CSOs, MLAs and stakeholders during his series of meetings.
“We told the Governor that our party is working to bring back normalcy and lasting peace in Manipur. We got a positive response from him,” he said. The NPP chief said the purpose of his visit was to meet local leaders, community representatives, internally displaced people (IDPs) and stakeholders to assess the situation on the ground and promote normalcy in the state.
“Many efforts have been made to resolve the ethnic crisis. Although some progress has been made, challenges remain. More engagement is needed to ensure complete peace,” he told the media.
CM Sangma stressed that the formation of a popular and democratic government is the key to achieving lasting peace and stressed the need for collective efforts from all stakeholders.
When asked about increasing the NPP’s presence in Manipur, he said: “Our priority is to restore peace and normalcy. Elections are far away; serving the people comes first.”
CM Sangma said he was looking forward to holding discussions with CSOs of Kuki-Zo community and IDPs of Kangpokpi district and visiting late NPP Manipur president and MLA N. Senapati district, an area inhabited by the Naga community. Will leave for Dimapur (Nagaland) on Friday to pay homage at Kaysi’s residence.
The NPP had withdrawn its support to the BJP-led government in Manipur on November 17 last year, claiming that Chief Minister N. Biren Singh’s government “completely failed to resolve the crisis and restore normalcy” in the violence-hit state.
The NPP, a constituent of the BJP-led NDA, had seven MLAs in the 60-member Manipur Assembly. However, the withdrawal did not affect the Biren Singh government as the BJP has 37 MLAs and also has the support of five Naga People’s Front (NPF) MLAs and three independent MLAs.
NPP MLA N. Kayisi, who was also the president of the party’s Manipur unit, died on January 18 after a prolonged illness, leaving the party with six MLAs currently in the House.
–IANS
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