The reported silence of Central forces during repeated arson of houses and attack on the civilians by militant groups under SoO in front of their eyes had triggered agony among the general populace of the Meetei community.
The Meira Paibi Apunba of Pungdongbam, Imphal East staged a sit-in protest at Pungdongbam on Saturday and demanded withdrawal of central forces from the state and to handover their weapons to the Imas so that they can protect civilians from militant groups.
The protest staged under the banner "Integrity of Manipur cannot be interfered by anyone" had demanded disqualification of the 10 MLAs who are attempting to disintegrate Manipur, withdrawal of SoO agreements with Kuki militants and immediate intervention of the government to address the grievances of the displaced people.
Speaking to the media, a protester asked, "Have the central forces mistaken the arson of houses as Yaoshang festival? Is it the reason for their silence?"
“Their silence speaks that the central forces are deployed not for the protection of the civilians but to give a hard time to the civilians by supporting the militants," she added.
Asking the Central forces to hand over their weapons to the Imas and retreat from the state, she said the Imas with the weapons can provide enough security to protect the civilians from the militants.
Concerning the silence of 50 MLAs when 10 MLAs had demanded separate administration, she urged the 50 MLAs to resign on moral ground.
A sit-in protest was also held at Poreiromba Khonangkhong in Imphal East demanding extraordinary efforts from the government for restoration of peace in Manipur at the earliest.
Also Read: ‘Remove Kuki militants from Meitei villages in Dolaithabi area’
