Manipur MLAs Urge PM to Retain Assam Rifles for Stability

Ten Kuki-Zo MLAs from Manipur have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting the continued deployment of Assam Rifles in sensitive areas of the state to prevent ethnic violence. The MLAs believe that replacing Assam Rifles with CRPF could escalate the violence due to their unfamiliarity with the region.

Ten Kuki-Zo MLAs of Manipur have penned a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking his intervention to ensure the Assam Rifles continue guarding the conflict-ridden areas of the state, instead of being replaced by the CRPF.

The legislators highlighted that while the central government is working toward ending the conflict, removing Assam Rifles—considered a neutral force with intimate knowledge of the terrain and communities—could lead to further violence.

The appeal follows reports suggesting the replacement of two Assam Rifles battalions in Kangvai and Kangpokpi with CRPF, which the MLAs described as a 'sinister design.' They stressed the vital role Assam Rifles have played in maintaining law and order and fostering peace amidst the ethnic tensions that have plagued the region since May last year.

(With inputs from agencies.)