GUWAHATI: Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh, who left for Delhi on Thursday, will have his first meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in more than 14 months since the ethnic violence between Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities broke out on May 3 last year.Singh told the media in Imphal on Thursday that he was visiting Delhi to attend a meeting of the NITI Aayog and a conclave of the chief ministers.“I am visiting Delhi especially to attend a meeting of the NITI Aayog. It will be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji. After that, I will attend the chief minister’s conclave in the presence of the PM,” Singh said.“We will discuss different issues. I will have the privilege to discuss the prevailing situation (in Manipur). I will make a request seeking an immediate solution to the present crisis,” he further stated, exuding confidence that something positive will come out.Replying to a WhatsApp query from this newspaper if he would have a one-to-one meeting with the PM, Singh wrote, “Sure”.Last month, over 20 NDA MLAs from Manipur visited Delhi and camped there for a few days to secure an audience with the PM to seek his intervention in restoring peace in the state. It was not known if they could meet him.As for the PM, he was criticised by the opposition parties for not visiting Manipur, even once, during the conflict which left at least 219 people dead and over 60,000 others displaced. A large majority of the displaced people are still languishing in relief camps.Since the violence, Manipur has remained ethnically partitioned with people from the two communities in conflict not even able to visit areas where the rival community is dominant. The Kukis are confined to the hills while the Meiteis are confined to the Imphal valley. They have no contact whatsoever with each other.The state government have come under criticism for allegedly discriminating against the Kuki community and siding with the Meiteis during the violence. Meanwhile, Singh on Thursday “personally” invited 10 Kuki-Zo legislators, including two ministers, to attend a session of the Manipur Assembly that will be held from July 31 to August 6. “They should come and join. We will cooperate,” Singh said.However, given the animosity and the feeling of insecurity, it is very unlikely that the Kuki-Zo legislators will attend the Assembly session. They had not attended the previous two sessions.Speaker T Satyabrata Singh also said that the Assembly had written to all MLAs, including the 10 from the Kuki-Zo community, to attend the Assembly session.“We had written to them (Kuki-Zo legislators) five-six days ago. They haven’t yet confirmed their participation. We hope they will attend the session,” the speaker said.
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