Manipur’s Meitei MLAs, MPs reach Kangla Fort in response to ‘summons’ by radical group Arambai Tenggol

While Chief Minister N Biren Singh did not arrive at Kangla, all other Meitei MLAs as well as Minister of State for External Affairs and Inner Manipur Lok Sabha MP Rajkumar Ranjan Singh and Manipur Rajya Sabha MP Leishemba Sanajaoba were present.

Arambai Tenggol is a radical group with a large number of armed volunteers in valley areas of the state. While they maintained a shadowy presence at the beginning of the conflict, the developments on Wednesday were a visible show of strength and legitimacy for the group. A large number of civilians also gathered in the streets to show their support.

A statement by the Superintendent of Police, Imphal West, detailing the security arrangements in and around Kangla confirmed that the Arambai Tenggol “has summoned all the ministers and MLA belonging to the valley districts at Kangla at 10 am” and were “planning to enter Kangla with arms before the programme”. The security deployment was to stop the entry of armed members into the premises.

Thousands of volunteers from the group had gathered in Imphal on Wednesday, ahead of the meeting which had been called for at 10 am, and the elected representatives began trickling into Kangla by around 9:30 am. The meeting ended at around 11 am. The representatives were reportedly made to take an oath inside Kangla.

Soon after the meeting, Korounganba Khuman addressed a large gathering at Khwairamband Ima Market, where he claimed that the representatives, including Biren Singh who was not present, were made to sign a set of demands and told to pressure the Central government to translate them into action.

This is even as a special Ministry of Home Affairs team is in Manipur with the aim of peace talks with both the communities and to assess the current situation in the state. The team met leaders of the outfit on Monday.

Demands made by the Arambai Tenggol include delisting of Kukis from the Scheduled Tribes list, deportation of refugees to camps in Mizoram, border fencing, replacement of Assam Rifles with other paramilitary force and revoking Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement between the Centre and Kuki militant groups.