Union minister, Rajya Sabha MP, MLAs across party lines in attendance after radical Meitei group ‘summons’ them

A Union Minister, a Rajya Sabha MP and almost all of Manipur’s Meitei MLAs attended a meeting at Imphal’s Kangla Fort on Wednesday morning – in response to “summons” issued to them by radical Meitei group Arambai Tenggol a day earlier.

Afterwards, the Arambai Tenggol claimed that the Meitei leaders had promised to convey the concerns of the community to the Centre.

Demands by the radical group, which has thousands of members and claims to represent and protect Meitei interests, include the delisting of Kukis from the Scheduled Tribe list, deportation of refugees to camps in Mizoram, border fencing, replacement of Assam Rifles with other paramilitary forces and revoking the Suspension of Operations agreement between Centre and Kuki militant groups.

While Chief Minister N Biren Singh was not at Kanmigla Fort, his name did figure in a list of signatories to demands that Meitei leaders had promised to convey to the Centre. Those in attendance included Minister of State for External Affairs and Inner Manipur Lok Sabha MP Rajkumar Ranjan Singh and Manipur Rajya Sabha MP Leishemba Sanajaoba.

The 37 MLAs who signed the list of demands included 25 from the BJP – including the CM, his Deputy Th Biswajit Singh, and Speaker Th Satyabrata Singh – four from the NPP, two from the JDU and one Independent. It also included all five MLAs from the opposition Congress, including former Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh.

Those who attended the meeting also said the elected representatives took an “oath” inside Kangla Fort – a historic site which served as the royal seat of the Manipur kingdom till 1891. The media was not allowed inside.

The Indian Express reached out to several MLAs who were at Kangla, but they either did not respond to calls or