Meitei group meets Rajnath Singh over the removal of Assam Rifles in Manipur

In order to press their demand for the Assam Rifles to be removed from Manipur, which has experienced widespread ethnic violence, representatives of a Meitei organization met with defence minister Rajnath Singh late on Thursday.

The Delhi Meitei Coordinating Committee (DMCC) met with Singh at his home and asked that another security force take the place of the Assam Rifles, according to a statement issued about midnight by a coalition of powerful Meitei groups. The Assam Rifles have been requested to be disbanded by the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), a group, since they are allegedly biased. Women's organizations in Meitei have protested the force on numerous occasions.

Since ethnic violence began in May, COCOMI members have had at least three meetings with Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Between 50,000 and 175 people have been displaced and killed as a result of the violence.

The DMCC submitted a memo emphasizing the threat from Kuki extremist groups and the alleged bias of the Assam Rifles, according to COCOMI spokesperson Khuraijam Athouba. Kuki organizations blamed the violence to Meitei militant organizations.

Athouba claimed that the DMCC team informed Singh of the disgrace Kuki groups had brought upon themselves by contacting the UN for a resolution to the Manipur conflict.

According to Athouba, the delegation informed Singh that Assam Rifles treated Meitei and Kuki demonstrators unfairly. According to the spokesperson, they also brought up the issues of narcoterrorism, illegal immigration, and their identification, as well as the agreement to suspend activities.