Under attack, Biren Singh hits back at Mizoram CM Lalduhoma

Manipur government rebukes Lalduhoma for criticizing its leadership, calling his remarks divisive and highlighting his controversial political history.

The Manipur government on Friday hit back at Mizoram chief minister Lalduhoma for his sharp criticism of his counterpart N Biren Singh in an interview to Hindustan Times, issuing a strong statement to condemn what it called an attempt to stoke hatred and double standards.

Manipur CM N Biren Singh (ANI)

The unprecedented statement came a day after Lalduhoma said Singh was a liability for the state, its people and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and that even President’s Rule was preferable compared to his administration because of its inability to control violence that has roiled Manipur for 18 months now.

“The Mizoram CM can display better statesmanship by being a good neighbour rather than stoke fire of hatred and division,” the lengthy Manipur government statement said.

“The government of Manipur strongly disapproves of the comments of Mizoram chief minister Lalduhoma on the internal matters of Manipur in an interview carried in the Hindustan Times.”

The controversy came amid mounting pressure on Singh, whose government has been unable to quell rising violence in Manipur, especially after the encounter killing of 10 tribal people and the brutal murder of six Meitei people in recent weeks. Around 260 people have died in ethnic clashes that began in May 2023 between the Meitei and Kuki communities but have since engulfed the entire state.

Mizoram is not only Manipur’s neighbour, it is also home to a large number of Kuki-Zo people.

In the interview published on Friday, Lalduhoma said he felt there was no point in giving advice to Singh, who has resisted calls for his removal from within and outside his party. Last week, the National Peoples Party withdrew its support even as Union home minister Amit Shah held emergency meetings in Delhi. “I’m sorry to say that he (Biren Singh) is a liability to the state of Manipur. He has been a liability to his own people and his party,” Lalduhoma said. “If his service is still needed, in my opinion, it is a necessary evil. More evil and less necessary.”

On Friday evening, Manipur hit back, saying Lalduhoma’s political career was not bereft of controversies. “In 1986, he earned the dubious distinction of becoming the first ever MP in the country to be discharged under anti-defection law. Thirty-four years later in 2020, he also became the first MLA in the country to be disqualified on charge of breaching the same law,” the statement said.

Manipur took exception to Lalduhoma’s objection to the fencing of the India-Myanmar border and his dream of the unification of the Zo people, pointing to a controversial speech in the US in September. The Mizoram CM had clarified that his speech was misrepresented and that he had called for unification of the Zo people under India.

“The Mizoram government has been steadfast in opposing the efforts of the Indian government to fence its open borders with neighbouring Myanmar for the purpose of curbing illegal immigration, trafficking of arms and drugs, internal security and defence. Myanmar is the origin of most of the illegal immigration and drugs problems that Manipur has been facing,” the Manipur government said.

“The ongoing crisis in Manipur is a creation of illegal immigrants from Myanmar, whose economy, after illegally settling in the State, driven by cultivation of illicit poppy, had taken a severe hit under chief minister N Biren Singh’s war on drugs. It is not on account of any anti-tribal policy of the state government, as has been falsely portrayed by the Mizoram CM through fabricated narratives and history,” the statement added.

The Manipur statement alleged that Mizoram also restricted the influx of illegal immigrants from Myanmar due to concerns of pressure on land, livelihoods and resources. “The Mizoram CM is engaging in double standards when he criticises the decision of the Manipur government to tackle the issue of illegal immigration similarly in Manipur as ‘anti-tribal’,” it said.

“When Mizoram does, it is perfectly fine. But when Manipur does, it is anti-tribal. Why the double standards?” said the title of the statement, issued by the directorate of information and public relations, Manipur.

“Mizoram chief minister must note that Manipur has a recorded history and a rich culture going back thousands of years unlike Mizoram which was carved out of the state of Assam only a few decades ago,” it added.

The Manipur government underlined its efforts to tackle drugs and illegal immigration, alleging that the number of villages in some districts populated by Kuki communities had increased manifold. “The Biren Singh government has been making continuous efforts towards restoration of peace and normalcy,” the statement said.

It also strongly objected to Lalduhoma’s call for the unification of the Zo people. “India must be wary of the greater agenda of carving a Kuki-Chin Christian nation out of contiguous areas of Myanmar, India and Bangladesh, played out over decades of meticulous planning, through illegal immigration, land grabbing, displacement of original indigenous peoples,” the government statement said.

The Manipur government claimed said such efforts were aimed at pushing illegal immigrants from Mizoram to Manipur for land grabbing.

“The government of Manipur will not allow fragmentation of North East India at the behest of foreign vested interests, or such secessionist interests as openly espoused by the Mizoram CM. Any individual, group or organisation working with such intent shall be met with the strong hands of the law.”