Two Kuki MLAs return to Manipur Assembly in person after over three years

Two Kuki MLAs arrived at the Manipur Legislative Assembly in Imphal on September 2 to attend the eighth session of the 12th Manipur Legislative Assembly, marking the first time Kuki legislators have come to the House in person since the ethnic conflict began in May 2023.

Saikul MLA Kimneo Haokip Hangshing and Saitu MLA Haokholet Kipgen arrived at the Assembly complex ahead of the session.

Their arrival comes despite an appeal by Kuki civil society urging Kuki MLAs to stay away from the session. The Kuki Inpi Manipur, the apex Kuki civil body, had asked all 10 Kuki-Zo legislators not to attend the Assembly session beginning Wednesday.

It had said that attending the sitting would signal normalcy despite the absence of a political settlement on the community's demands.

Despite the appeal, at least two Kuki MLAs have turned up at the Assembly in person.

Since the onset of the conflict, Kuki MLAs have attended Manipur Legislative Assembly sessions through virtual mode. Their physical presence in Imphal for the current session marks a departure from that practice.

The eighth session, which began on Wednesday and is scheduled to have three sittings, has several issues on its agenda, including matters linked to the security situation and the violence in the state.

According to the revised List of Business, MLA K Ranjit Singh is scheduled to raise concerns over the reported proposal for a land-swap deal between India and Myanmar. MLA K Meghachandra Singh is also scheduled to raise the atrocities committed over the past two years, including the abduction and subsequent killing of women and children in Jiribam, the bomb attack at Tronglaobi that killed two children, the killing of three Kuki church leaders at Saheibung and an ambush along the Imphal-Tamei road in which four Naga civilians were killed.

The session will also take up the first batch of Demands for Supplementary Grants for 2026-27. Several government Bills are listed for introduction, including the Manipur Town and Country Planning (Sixth Amendment) Bill, the Manipur Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland (Third Amendment) Bill, the Manipur Goods and Services Tax (Tenth Amendment) Bill, the Manipur AYUSH Council Bill and the Manipur Right to Business and Investment Facilitation Bill.

The Manipur Panchayati Raj (Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2026, is scheduled to be introduced by Deputy Chief Minister Nemcha Kipgen, while Home Minister Konthoujam Govindas Singh is listed to introduce the Manipur Fire and Emergency Service Bill, 2026.

The Assembly is also scheduled to consider a resolution seeking withdrawal of the Factories (Manipur Amendment) Bill, 2022, which was passed by the House in July 2022. Another resolution proposes adopting the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Amendment Act, 2024, in Manipur.

On the other hand, 14 civil society organisations of Kangleipak have appealed to Deputy Chief Minister Nemcha Kipgen to attend the Assembly session in Imphal and participate in the proceedings without obstruction.

The CSOs have also called upon all political leaders in the state to participate in the Assembly proceedings and move an Adjournment Motion to deliberate on the prevailing issues affecting Manipur.

The organisations said Nemcha Kipgen, who represents the Kuki community and serves as Deputy Chief Minister, should also attend the Assembly session in Imphal. They asserted that people from all communities should be able to move freely and participate in democratic proceedings.

The development comes as the state government has been maintaining that Manipur is gradually returning to normalcy. Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh had earlier said the state was slowly limping back to normalcy.

The Imphal-Guwahati bus service has also resumed after more than three years, another development the government has cited as a sign of improving normalcy. The state government has said it is making efforts to restore complete normalcy in Manipur.