CM Yumnam Khemchand Must Act: Reining in Paolienlal Haokip Is Essential for Lasting Peace

Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh, alongside Deputy Chief Minister Nemcha Kipgen, and MLAs L.M. Khaute, Ngursanglur Sanate, and Vungzagin Valte has taken meaningful strides toward healing Manipur in the weeks following the new government's formation on February 4, 2026.

Their collaborative efforts, marked by CM Khemchand's personal gestures like greeting and seeing off the ailing Kuki MLA Valte at Imphal Airport for medical airlift to Gurugram, assurances of safety for Kuki people visiting Imphal for treatment, and the symbolic participation of LM Khaute and Sanate in the swearing-in and virtual presence of Manipur Assembly sessions signal a genuine push for reconciliation across ethnic lines. 

These actions, supported by appeals for peace and harmony from the CM and his Kuki colleagues, have helped create pockets of dialogue and normalcy amid lingering tensions, reinforcing the possibility of living together despite the scars of the past three years.

While these leaders actively work to bridge divides and restore confidence, some MLAs remain conspicuously silent on unity efforts. In stark contrast, BJP MLA Paolienlal Haokip has shown no signs of restraint, even after the new government took shape. 

His recent post on social media stands out as particularly inflammatory and irresponsible: "Two Dy CMs at the right time could have saved the state the trouble; sacking a communal CM at the right time could have saved hundreds of lives and ethnic animosity; delaying three UTs is a mistake of the same genre with much more costs to be paid."

This statement is not mere political commentary; it borders on hate speech wrapped in the guise of hindsight critique.  Paolienlal Haokip perpetuates a narrative that paints one community as inherently antagonistic. More dangerously, his insistence on "three UTs" (Union Territories), a long-standing demand for carving out separate administrative units for hill/tribal areas, effectively advocates for the breakup of Manipur as a unified state. 

Also Read: Heartfelt Thanks to Manipur CIC Koijam Radhashyam Singh for Defending the Poor's Right to Know

In a context where ethnic tensions remain raw, such calls can be interpreted as threats to territorial integrity and incitement to further separatism. This persistent push for division, coupled with inflammatory rhetoric that sustains ethnic animosity, directly counters the inclusive path being charted by the new CM and his collaborative team.

CM Khemchand and the BJP leadership must now act decisively to rein in Paolienlal  Haokip in the interest of peace. Allowing unchecked separatist demands and divisive speech from within the party not only undermines the hard-won progress toward healing but risks eroding trust across communities at a time when Manipur needs unified leadership most. Peace requires discipline and collective commitment, starting from within the ruling fold.

Yumnam Khemchand's initiative to hold virtual meetings where displaced IDP families from both communities could speak directly to ethe lected head of the state, after years of physical and emotional separation are not just symbolic gestures. They are concrete attempts to rebuild trust, one painful conversation at a time.

By putting the suffering of internally displaced persons at the centre of his early agenda and encouraging both sides to listen without immediate demands or blame, CM Khemchand is doing exactly what Manipur needs right now: creating space for empathy to return. 

The interaction between Chief Minister and Churachandpur MLA L.M. Khaute during the virtual session of the IDP today highlights a promising narrowing of the ethnic divide. In this session, where MLA Khaute directly requested the CM to address practical issues like job card facilities under MGNREGA and other basic amenities for affected IDP communities. 

Such open, issue-based dialogue on everyday governance needs, rather than solely ethnic or political grievances, signals growing willingness to engage constructively across community lines. It points toward a future where physical interactions, travel, and normal exchanges among Manipur's people can resume safely and soon, rebuilding the social fabric torn since May 2023. These small but significant steps in virtual forums are vital bridges, demonstrating that pragmatic cooperation is possible even in a fragile environment.

These steps deserve praise and protection. They represent the fragile beginning of something that could actually end the nightmare.

But right now, that beginning is being quietly undermined from within his own political family. BJP MLA Paolienlal Haokip from Saikot continues to speak and act in ways that pull hard in the opposite direction.

Even during the tense days leading up to government formation in early February 2026, Paolienlal Haokip made it clear that Kuki MLAs would not join the process of electing a leader or participating in the new ministry unless there was a written commitment to separate administration for the hill areas. 

He has framed any cooperation as conditional on a political settlement that recognises what he and his allies describe as ethnic cleansing and delivers a distinct administrative entity, whether framed as three Union Territories or a Union Territory with legislature. 

That position has not softened since Khemchand government was sworn in. Instead, it remains a public red line: no participation without separation first.

This is not ordinary coalition bargaining. In a state still raw from mass displacement, burned villages, and hundreds of lost lives, repeatedly tying governance to territorial division keeps alive the very mistrust and animosity that CM Khemchand is trying to dissolve. 

When a sitting  BJP MLA from the ruling party insists that unity is impossible without carving up the state, it sends a message far louder than any single speech: reconciliation is secondary; fragmentation is non-negotiable.

The problem goes deeper. Paolienlal Haokip has a long record of harsh language toward previous state leadership, calling N. Biren Singh “communal,” a “mad man,” a “marauder,” and directly blaming him for the bloodshed and ethnic divide. He has dismissed peace overtures that do not include separation, even rejecting the idea of a Kuki Chief Minister if it means staying within a unified Manipur. 

His positions echo the uncompromising line taken by some Kuki civil society groups like ITLF, which have consistently prioritised separatist demands over any bridge-building that preserves the state’s integrity.

More damaging still are his repeated attacks on the central BJP leadership. He has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of hypocrisy. He has called the Prime Minister’s brief visits “a wastage of resources” delivering nothing but “hollow rhetoric.” He has even questioned Home Minister Amit Shah’s crisis management, suggested protection of certain figures for questionable motives, and implied failures in implementing directives meant to stop the violence. 

When these criticisms come from inside the BJP rather than from the opposition benches, they carry extra weight. They risk convincing ordinary people that even the highest levels of the party are indifferent or unreliable when it comes to Manipur’s pain.

The most glaring issue, however, is the total silence from the BJP, both at the state level and in Delhi about Paolienlal Haokip’s words and actions. Party rules provide clear mechanisms to address indiscipline, statements that damage national unity, or conduct that works against the organisation’s broader interests. 

Warnings, explanations, suspensions, even expulsion are all on the table. Yet nothing has been done. No public clarification, no private correction, no disciplinary notice.

This prolonged quiet creates an unmistakable impression of double standards: some voices are reined in quickly, others are allowed to run free when it suits political convenience or community arithmetic.

For CM Khemchand, the cost is immediate and real. How can people believe the new government is serious about unity and healing when one of his own senior colleagues openly campaigns for division and attacks the national leadership without consequence? 

How can the virtual dialogues CM have started gain real momentum when the ruling party contains a loud voice saying separation must come first? 

MLA Paolienlal Haokip was also seen sitting in the virtual meet with IDP today. His Saikot AC have Meitei voters who now became IDP. A few words from him could have been a balm to the wounded Meitei voters from Saikot who have voted him in 2022. 

The longer this contradiction festers, the weaker reconciliation efforts become, and the greater the risk that mistrust hardens again.Peace does not wait forever. The current moment, new government, end of President’s Rule, first signs of dialogue, is a narrow window. 

It can close quickly if divisive rhetoric from within the BJP is left unchecked.The reminder is straightforward: rein in Paolienlal Haokip. A firm private conversation, a public statement distancing the government from separatist demands, or formal disciplinary steps under party rules, any of these would signal that the new administration stands for one Manipur, for inclusive healing, and for accountability over indulgence. 

Doing so would strengthen CM Khemchand's hand, reassure communities that unity is not negotiable, and give his peace-building work the breathing room it needs to succeed.

Manipur has paid too high a price for division. CM Khemchand has shown he wants to end the suffering. Now he must show he has the resolve to discipline those inside his own camp who keep pulling the state apart. Peace won’t wait.


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