Kuki MLAs to boycott Manipur's new govt post President's rule

IMPHAL: Manipur's Kuki-Zo community has resolved that its 10 MLAs, including seven from BJP, will not participate in any govt formation if President's rule ends in the state. The move marks a sharp escalation in the state's ethnic and political divide.

The decision came at a joint meeting of key Kuki-Zo civil society organisations and community bodies held Friday at Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM) secretariat.

Representatives from KIM and its units attended alongside district units and department heads.

Manipur has been under President's Rule since Feb amid continuing ethnic unrest between Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities, which erupted in May 2023.

The joint meeting has adopted a resolution asserting that the community would never compromise on its ancestral land, culture, identity, and its political, social, and economic rights.

While the statement stopped short of making any demand for statehood or administrative separation, the unified declaration is seen as a direct challenge to any attempt at political normalisation in Manipur without addressing Kuki-Zo grievances in Manipur.