Manipur Assembly to convene on August 29 amid uncertainty over Kuki-Zo MLA’s attendance

Amid the lingering aftermath of ethnic violence that has gripped Manipur for the past four months, the Manipur Assembly is scheduled to reconvene on August 29 in a significant step towards addressing the turmoil that has plagued the state. However, doubts persist over the participation of the 10 Kuki-Zo members of the assembly, given the prevailing circumstances.

The decision to convene the assembly comes in the wake of Governor Anusuiya Uikey’s summoning order dated August 21, following the state Cabinet’s revised recommendation. This development materialised after a meeting held on Monday.

However, the Kuki-Zo MLAs have expressed reservations about their ability to attend the session in Imphal, a region predominantly inhabited by the Meitei community.

“As legislators, it is our duty to attend the Assembly. But given the current situation, I don’t know what the government plans for us. As of now, it is beyond our belief that there will be any means for us to attend. Looking back at events, an MLA with his proper security was attacked in a way that he went into a coma … We will consult each other and see what can be done,” said one of the legislators, drawing attention to the precarious security environment.

The attack on Thanlon MLA and former minister Vunzagin Valte on May 3, which left him in a coma, has exacerbated concerns among the Kuki-Zo members.

Meanwhile, 10 Kuki-Zo MLAs – seven from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting that posts of chief secretary and director general of police or its equivalents be created for the five hill districts where members of the minority tribal communities are staying.

The members also said that it was impossible for any Kuki-Zo MLA to travel to Imphal due to security concerns. The memorandum signed by the MLAs read, “No Kuki-Zo people can go to Imphal, nor government employees posted in Imphal capital and other valley districts can attend their offices… Even IAS and Manipur Civil Services officers, and IPS and Manipur Police Services officer belonging to the Kuki-Zo tribes have been unable to function and discharge their duties as Imphal Valley has also become a valley of death for us.”

Manipur Assembly to convene after govt invokes emergency provisions

The summoning of the Assembly follows a sequence of events that transpired after the Governor did not endorse the Cabinet’s initial recommendation to convene the Assembly on August 21. The Constitution’s Article 174 stipulates that an interval of no more than six months should separate the last sitting of a session from the first sitting of the subsequent session. Given that the last session concluded on March 3, the Assembly’s reconvention was necessitated before September 2.

Another intricacy arises from the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of the Assembly, which mandate issuing summons to each member ‘at least 15 days before the date so appointed’. However, this timeframe had already expired on August 21.

To circumvent these challenges, the government invoked an emergency provision within the rules. “Provided that when a session is called at short notice or emergently, summons may not be issued to each member separately but an announcement of the date and place of the session shall be published in the Gazette and made in the press, and members may be informed by telegram,” the provision states.