The beleaguered Chief Minister N Biren Singh made two important statements in his press conference on Sunday in the presence of his ministerial colleagues. The first statement was that state forces along with Central forces have begun joint operations against Kuki militants in several areas, with the backing of even helicopters. The second claim was that, 33 Kuki militants have been neutralised in the said operations by combined forces. After making the statement, the chief minister chose not to take questions. Interestingly, the advisor security Kuldiep Singh did not brief the media on Sunday. He usually gives a round-up of the various incidents and happenings in the state for the day.
Sunday reached a flashpoint of violence in the state with coordinated attacks on many fronts by heavily armed Kuki militants in villages situated near the foothills leaving several innocent villagers dead. State police commandos and village volunteers were also among the dead and injured. On such a day, the general public and media was eagerly waiting for the official version from the Advisor Security, as rumours were plenty. Most of the media houses were flooded with queries from the general public while reporters had a hard time running to cover the various encounters taking place in different directions. Yes, we must say Advisor Kuldiep was missing in action.
Problem is, should we believe in what the chief minister had said about joint operations with central forces? There is a general outcry among the general population against central forces in the state as they remain mute spectators to the violence and attacks unleashed by Kuki militants against Meitei villages located near the foothills. We understand, it is not the fault of the personnel on the ground that they did not retaliate against the SoO militants.
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The fault lies with the leadership of the central forces who still continue to hold dear to the SoO agreement which they had painstakingly crafted and who still dream that the SoO militants will adhere to the ground rules. Under the SoO ground rules, the militants are supposed to be at the designated camps, especially more so at times of communal conflict. Upon first inspection of the designated camps, the central forces team found many of the cadres and arms missing. Just a few days back, the Advisor Security Kuldiep Singh informed media-persons that the number of cadres and arms are increasing and a full report on the inspection will soon be placed.
However, the militants who attacked Meitei villages on Sunday were armed with sophisticated weapons including sniper rifles. Reports from the ground in various encounter sites on Sunday said, Central forces merely stood by while the state police commandos along with village volunteers armed with only single and double barrels battled it out with the Kuki militants. One cannot but applaud the bravery and determination of police commandos and state forces in spite of odds they are facing. With regard to the death toll on Sunday, as per reports from the ground the deaths were mostly among the Meitei civilians with a few commandos included while death among the marauding Kuki militants were only a few. Reports from the hospital subscribe to this ground report.
We sincerely want to believe the state chief minister with regard to his claim that joint operations have begun and that some 33 Kuki militants were killed in the operations. But, it needs to be backed by facts on the ground and body count. State MLAs have of late become extremely restive in view of recent developments as the general public are breathing down their necks on their stand with regard to Centre’s indifference and the reluctance of central forces to operate against SoO militants. Another BJP MLA’s house was vandalised on Sunday while attempts are being made in other places also.
