Manipur can't be governed for one community, CM Khemchand says

Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh said on Saturday that the state, home to 36 communities, cannot be governed by putting the interests of any one community first.

He was speaking at the state's Rashtriya Ekta Diwas (National Unity Day) observance at the 1st Battalion Manipur Rifles parade ground in Imphal, India Today NE reported.

'Move beyond community-centric thinking'

The Chief Minister urged people to look beyond community-centred thinking, saying such an approach could not secure the state's integrity, peace or economic progress. He said the interests of all communities had to be taken into account if Manipur was to achieve lasting peace and development, and stressed the importance of a shared identity.

His remarks come as the state government tries to rebuild trust after more than three years of ethnic conflict. Earlier this week, at a Kom community festival, he floated a proposed integrity committee with one member from each community and said an Upper House for smaller communities was being studied.

Same day as mass rallies

The speech was delivered on the day thousands of people joined rallies in Imphal organised by the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), which demanded the Khemchand government's resignation and the scrapping of the Suspension of Operations pact with Kuki-Zo militant groups. Naga bodies backed by the United Naga Council held parallel rallies in Senapati and Chandel. The Chief Minister did not refer to the rallies in the remarks reported from the event.

The Unity Day programme

Rashtriya Ekta Diwas marks the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Khemchand Singh recalled Patel's role in the freedom struggle, including the Civil Disobedience and Quit India movements, and his work integrating the princely states after Independence. He noted that the day has been observed since 2014 and mentioned the 182-metre Statue of Unity in Gujarat, inaugurated on 31 October 2018.

Nine contingents took part in a march past commanded by Pramesh Arambam, Commanding Officer of the 4th Indian Reserve Battalion. The Government Dance Academy staged a choreographed piece titled "Akhoigi Apunba Saktam" (Our Collective Identity).

Home Minister Govindas Konthoujam, MLAs, the Chief Secretary, the Security Advisor, the Director General of Police and senior civil and police officers attended.