IMPHAL: Chief Minister N Biren Singh has yet again hit out at his Mizoram counterpart for meddling with issues that he feels are strictly “internal” for Manipur, urging him to help restore peace in the strife-torn state instead.
Five months after lashing out at former Chief Minister Zoramthanga, the newly elected Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma has come under Chief Minister Singh’s ire after the Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) chief recently urged Manipur police not to “harass” the people at Moreh.
Speaking to the press on the sideline of Nupee Lal Numit 2023 in Imphal on Tuesday, Singh said that it’s “unfortunate” for a newly elected Chief Minister to comment on situations he doesn’t know ground realities of.
“The border town (Moreh) is home to diverse communities, including Meiteis, Meitei Pangals, Tamil, Kukis, Thadou etc., so, the place cannot be a one community area… My earnest appeal to him is to help us in restoring peace in Manipur irrespective of caste and community in the state,” he told the press.
Earlier in July, Chief Minister Singh had lashed out at Mizo National Front (MNF) chief Zoramthanga for attending an event in Aizawl organised in solidarity with the Kuki-Zo tribal people of Manipur.
Shedding light on the current Myanmar refugee situation in the state, Chief Minister Singh said that his government is doing everything compassionately possible for the refugees.
“We are providing humanitarian services to them, including food and healthcare services,” he said.
Stressing that the government is closely monitoring the situation, Singh informed that strict precautionary measures such as biometric identification at strategic locations have been imposed and till date, the government has successfully identified 1,900 refugees at Kamjong district alone.
“Of them, biometrics of 1600 have been collected,” he said.
Of late, both Mizoram and Manipur have become safe haven for people fleeing from Myanmar, particularly from the Chin community, following the military coup in February 2021. Over 31,000 Myanmarese nationals have taken refuge in Mizoram as of last month.
