Guwahati: Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM), the apex body representing the Kuki-Zo community, has directed all Kuki-Zo MLAs not to travel to Imphal to attend the Manipur legislative assembly session scheduled to begin on Sept 2, pending a political settlement on the Kuki-Zo demand for a separate administration.The Kuki-Zo community currently has nine representatives in the 60-member Assembly — six from BJP, including deputy CM Nemcha Kipgen; two from Kuki People’s Alliance (KPA); and one independent. Another legislator from the community, BJP MLA Vungzagin Valte, died at a hospital in Gurgaon in Feb after a long battle with injuries he sustained on March 4, 2023, the second day of ethnic violence between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities.“The Kuki-Zo people have made their political aspirations clear. Their demand for a separate political administration is not a matter that can be set aside while normal legislative proceedings are resumed as though the prevailing political crisis has been resolved. There can be no return to business as usual without a political solution,” KIM said.“The KIM reiterates that the Kuki-Zo people will not accept any attempt to use participation in the Manipur Legislative Assembly to project an impression of normalcy or to dilute the demand for a political settlement,” it added.It remains unclear whether all nine legislators will comply with the KIM directive.
