GUWAHATI Ten Manipur MLAs belonging to the Kuki-Zomi-Hmar group of tribes have asked the Election Commission of India (ECI) to let the displaced members of the community scattered beyond the State vote from wherever they have taken shelter.
In a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner on March 25, the MLAs said the eligible voters among some 50,000 displaced Kuki-Zomi-Hmar people living outside Manipur should be allowed to cast their votes using Aaadhar cards and other valid documents as many of them would have lost their voter identity cards.
The MLAs said most Kuki-Zomi-Hmar people fled the Meitei-dominated Imphal Valley after their houses, properties, and churches were destroyed by radical groups since May 3, 2023, when the ethnic conflict between the two communities started. .
“The communal violence has resulted so far in deaths of over 160 innocent civilians of our community, burning and destruction of over 360 churches, over 205 villages, and over 7,000 houses in the Imphal Valley and different hill districts,” the MLAs, including seven of the BJP, wrote.
“As a solution to the conflict remains elusive and with the situation still volatile, none of our displaced people are in a position to return to the Imphal Valley and their villages, compelling them to take shelter in different parts of the country, including Mizoram, Assam, Nagaland, Meghalaya, and Delhi,” they said.
Facility at relief camps
Referring to the ECI’s decision to enable voting for the displaced people at relief camps within Manipur, the MLAs said many genuine voters of the community would be deprived of their constitutional right to exercise their franchise if a similar arrangement was not made for the violence-displaced people taking shelter beyond the State.
“As the guardian of democracy in the country, we trust that the highly esteemed ECI will evolve ways and means to enable the unfortunate victims of ethnic violence eligible to vote belonging to the Kuki-Zomi-Hmar community in Manipur to exercise their franchise in the true spirit of democracy,” the MLAs said.
“This suffering of ours, which is among the few human tragedies witnessed by independent India, should not be allowed to turn into a classic case of denial of universal adult franchise guaranteed under Article 326 of the Constitution of India,” they added.
The MLAs led by Nemcha Kipgen, Paolienlal Haokip, and Letpao Haokip urged the ECI to direct the States and Union Territories to identify the internally displaced people from Manipur and notify polling stations for them “wherever needed” apart from allowing them to vote using Aadhaar cards if they are unable to produce the elector’s photo identity cards.
Manipur has two Lok Sabha seats. The Inner Manipur constituency has 32 Assembly seats in the Meitei-dominated Imphal Valley while the Outer Manipur, reserved for the Scheduled Tribes, comprises 28 Assembly segments.
Of the 28 Assembly seats, 20 are spread across the hills divided almost equally between the Nagas and Kuki-Zo people. The remaining eight are located in the foothill areas of the Imphal Valley.
Inner Manipur will vote on April 19. The voting for Outer Manipur will be held on April 19 and April 26 because of geography and the prevailing ethnic tension.
