Should one believe Manipur CM N Biren Singh’s clarification in the Manipur assembly that he did not ask Mizoram CM Lalduhoma to mediate with Kuki-Zo groups in relation to the Manipur crisis? The report was all over the national media and it was supposed to have happened on the sidelines of Niti Aayog meeting in New Delhi on July 28, just before the commencement of the state assembly session. According to the reports in national media Biren Singh is supposed to have made the request to Mizoram CM Lalduhoma there and then.
According to the reports, Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma is likely to mediate and convince the Kuki-Zo organisations to come forward for talks with the government as well as the organisations representing the Meiteis. Lalduhoma’s advisor, MLA Lalmuanpuia Punte went further by clarifying in Churachandpur that CM Lalduhoma did not mention any particular organisation in his suggestion to Amit Shah in letting CSOs involve in the peace initiative in Manipur.
The maverick Kuki MLA Paolienlal Haokip even objected to Lalduhoma playing the mediator. The development was discussed and dissected in the local media and channels. But, the report was not disputed or denied till a question came up in the Manipur legislative assembly on Monday in which Biren Singh clarified that he did not ask Lalduhoma to mediate. Therein lies the nature of everyday politics.
Here, one needs to recall the audacity of Mizoram CM Lalduhoma calling for President’s Rule in Manipur in January this year. Well, there might have been 101 reasons for imposing Presidents’ Rule or invoking Article 356 of the Indian Constitution in the state. As we understand, Article 355 is already in force. It is just one Article away. But, the Chief Minister of a neighbouring state has got no business to demand PR in Manipur. Lalduhoma of Zoram Peoples’ Movement (ZPM) had just taken oath as the new Chief Minister of Mizoram after defeating the erstwhile insurgent leader Zoramthanga of MNF and he should be minding his own affairs and take forward Mizoram to new heights as promised in the just concluded state assembly elections.
For most Mizo leaders, whichever party they belong to, they always harp on the ‘Greater Mizoram’ issue for the benefit of nationalistic Mizo ethos. When Zoramthanga openly spoke and interfered in the internal affairs of neighbouring Manipur, it was no surprise because of the state assembly elections. He simply thought going full throttle on the Zo unification issue while empathising with the refugees from war-torn Myanmar and the Kukis from Manipur would bring him dividends. That much, everyone understood. But Zoramthanga went one step further and began openly interfering in the internal affairs of Manipur at a time when the ethnic war was at its height.
Expressing concern about the ethnic clashes in a neighbouring state and facilitating relief camps for the people who came seeking shelter in Mizoram was humanitarian. But he went beyond that. He openly encouraged the Kuki MLAs and other leaders from Manipur, provided a platform for Kuki leaders to reach out to international bodies and even joined a public rally invoking Greater Mizoram. In fact, he went beyond his brief and joined the hate campaign against the Meiteis. The new Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma was no different.
Lalduhoma, while talking to the media after winning the elections on December 4, said that zero tolerance on state corruption, bringing about financial reforms, balanced development in the state, investigation of corruption cases by the CBI and engaging with the issue of Zo-unification are going to be the main priorities of his party’s government. With these commitments in priority, one never thought that Lalduhoma would poke his nose in affairs other than that of his state. He would certainly empathise with the Kuki-Zo people in Manipur, that much is expected. But his direct interference was not expected. Manipur CM Biren should have remembered this.
