P. Chidambaram
Imphal, May 9 : Union home minister P. Chidambaram will visit Manipur for two days beginning May 10 to assess the situation in the state and also to inaugurate a newly constructed mini-secretariat at the district headquarters of Ukhrul, the home district of NSCN (I-M) leader Th. Muivah.
Official sources said Chidambaram would arrive here in the afternoon on Tuesday.
He will head for the district headquarters of Ukhrul the next morning to inaugurate a mini-secretariat, which will have all the offices of district heads from all the government departments.
“The home minister accepted a request by chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh to inaugurate the Ukhrul mini-secretariat. During his stay in Imphal, the home minister will review the prevailing situation in the state,” a senior cabinet minister said.
“On his arrival, Chidambaram will discuss the law and order situation in the state with the chief minister,” the minister said.
Sources said the discussion would cover the preparation for talks with 19 Kuki militant groups, who are now kept at designated camps in the hill districts.
The militant groups, which come under the two umbrella bodies of the Kuki National Organisation and the United Peoples Front, had signed a tripartite suspension of operations agreement with the Centre and the state government in August 2008 and have been demanding an early start of talks since.
The groups have been demanding a separate homeland for the Kukis within the Constitution.
Chidambaram’s visit comes at a time when Naga organisations, spearheaded by the United Naga Council (UNC), have renewed their demand for an “alternative” administrative arrangement for the Nagas in Manipur, beyond the purview of the Manipur government.
The demand came after the Ibobi Singh government foiled Muivah’s bid to enter Manipur on May 6 last year and the death of two students in the police crackdown at Mao Gate on the same day.
The Nagas observed the anniversary of the Mao Gate incident yesterday.
The Committee for Alternative Arrangement, formed by Naga civil society leaders to pursue the issue, has urged the home ministry to resume the tripartite talk between the Centre, the state government and the Naga civil society bodies with the demand for an alternative arrangement.
The first round of talks was held at Senapati district headquarters on December 3 last year.
UNC president Samson Remei while addressing the Mao Gate anniversary yesterday urged the Centre to resume the talks by May 15.
No official was ready to speak on the agenda of the security review meeting.