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Hindustan Times
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Manipur Congress MP alleges he was stopped from visiting area in his constituency
IMPHAL: Angomcha Bimol Akoijam, Lok Sabha MP from Inner Manipur, has said that he was stopped from visiting Phougakchou-Ikhai Makha Leikai Keithel in Bishnupur district, which falls within his parliamentary constituency, on Monday. Angomcha Bimol Akoijam, Congress Lok Sabha MP from Inner Manipur. The Congress MP said it happened despite the heavy presence of security forces, including the Indian Army, and alleged that there was an 'imaginary and unconstitutional buffer zone', which violates Article 19 of the Indian Constitution and fosters communal division, in the strife-torn state. Speaking to the media at his Imphal residence on Tuesday, Bimol sai dthat preventing an Indian citizen, let alone an elected Member of Parliament from freely moving within his own constituency, was a blatant breach of constitutional rights. He accused security forces of implicitly supporting the buffer zone concept, which, he claimed, was fueling division between communities in Manipur. 'The enforcement of an imaginary and unconstitutional buffer zone reflects a communally driven agenda that is deepening divisions in Manipur,' Bimol said, adding that the government had already clarified that no such zone officially exists. Despite this, he claimed, security forces continue to act as if one does. In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday, the Congress MP wrote: 'I, an elected Member of Lok Sabha, was stopped from visiting Phougakchou-Ikhai Makha Leikai Keithel in Bishnupur District, which falls within my parliamentary constituency (Inner Manipur) today, despite the heavy presence of security forces, including the Indian Army. Tellingly, civilians belonging to other communities (such as Pangals) are allowed to travel through the same place right in front of me. It speaks of the clandestine ways through which the state has been nurturing a communally founded division of Manipur and enforcing an unconstitutional buffer zone.' Bimol further clarified that his attempt to visit the market area was not provocative and accused the security forces, specifically the 6 Assam Rifles, who erected the barricade in May 2023, of contributing to ongoing tensions. The so-called buffer zone was initially set up to control mobs but has since become a symbol of communal segregation, he said. 'Manipur is not divided by communal ideology,' he said. The MP further said, 'For the past few months, farmers have been facing attacks from armed militants intended to instill fear and discourage agricultural activity.' He cited two recent incidents, one in Imphal East on June 16 and another in Bishnupur on June 20. In the Imphal East incident, he alleged that members of the Kuki community prevented Meitei farmers from working in their fields, claiming the land was disputed and did not belong to the Meiteis. In the second case, a farmer sustained bullet injuries after allegedly being attacked by armed Kuki militants at Phubala, located on the volatile border between Meitei-majority Bishnupur and Kuki-dominated Churachandpur.
Time of India
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Manipur Cong MP: ‘Buffer zone' imaginary, unconstitutional line
1 2 3 4 Imphal: Inner Manipur MP Akoijam Bimol Angomcha was prevented by central forces from visiting a village located in the periphery of Imphal Valley, following which he accused the state of "establishing and nurturing an imaginary and unconstitutional line, the so-called 'buffer zone', in support of communal forces". The Congress MP said he wanted to visit Phougakchou Ikhai, a peripheral area along the border of Meitei-dominated Bishnupur district and Kuki-dominated Churachandpur, on Sunday as it falls under his constituency. "I, an elected Member of Lok Sabha, was stopped from visiting Phougakchou-Ikhai Makha Leikai Keithel (Bazar) in Bishnupur district, which falls within my parliamentary constituency (Inner Manipur) today, despite the heavy presence of security forces, including the Indian Army, in the area guarding the place," the MP said in a late night post on X. "Tellingly, civilians belonging to other communities (such as Pangals) are allowed to travel through the same place right in front of me, a Member of Parliament of the largest democracy in the world!" he added. "It speaks of the clandestine ways through which the state has been nurturing a communally founded division of Manipur, and drawing up and enforcing an imaginary and unconstitutional line, the so-called 'buffer zone', in support of communal forces in the state," the Congress MP said. Honest and determined efforts will solve the issue, not lies and a cynical approach. Let truth, justice and peace prevail, Akoijam added. Phougakchao Ikhai, which was one of the first areas in Manipur to have been affected by ethnic violence which broke out on May 3, 2023, is now heavily guarded by security forces. Residents of the locality had fled after a violent mob coming from Churachandpur district vandalised and torched several houses in nearby Torbung on May 3, 2023. The attacks led to retaliation on Kukis in Imphal on the night of May 3, further spiraling the conflict in which over 260 people have died and thousands have been rendered homeless so far. PTI
