Restoring peace a collective task: Manipur CM 

Imphal, Feb 5 (IANS) A day after assuming office, Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh on Thursday underscored that restoring peace and normalcy in the violence-hit state is a collective responsibility of all stakeholders, including elected representatives. 

Addressing the Assembly, Singh referred to Manipur’s history of ethnic conflicts and recalled the devastating Kuki-Naga clashes that began in 1993, which claimed over 1,000 lives. 

Terming such violence as deeply unfortunate, he said sustained efforts were needed to prevent a repeat of past tragedies. 

“To bring back a peaceful atmosphere, it is a collective responsibility of all of us,” the Chief Minister said, calling for cooperation to bridge the trust deficit that continues to hinder free movement and the return of displaced people to their homes. 

Singh, a 61-year-old BJP legislator, also expressed gratitude to opposition MLAs for extending support to the government’s initiatives aimed at restoring peace and stability in the state, which witnessed ethnic violence between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities since May 2023 and was placed under President’s Rule in February 13 last year. 

Later, Speaker Thokchom Satyabrata adjourned the seventh session of the 12th Manipur Legislative Assembly sine die. A member of the majority Meitei community, Singh served as Speaker of the Manipur Assembly from 2017 to 2022 and was elected twice from the Singjamei constituency in Imphal West district as a BJP candidate in the 2017 and 2022 Assembly elections. 

He was appointed a Cabinet Minister in the second N. Biren Singh-led ministry following the BJP’s second consecutive victory in the 2022 Manipur Assembly elections.

Meanwhile, the Centre on Wednesday withdrew President’s Rule from Manipur, paving the way for the formation of the Yumnam Khemchand Singh-led NDA government in the state, officials said.

The troubled state had been under President’s Rule since February 13 last year, four days after then-Chief Minister N. Biren Singh resigned amid prolonged ethnic violence. 

--IANS 

sc/dan