Manipur: Thousands rally in Imphal against SoO pact, demand Deputy CM's removal

Thousands of people marched in Imphal on Saturday demanding that the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement with Kuki-Zo armed groups be scrapped, and that Deputy Chief Minister Nemcha Kipgen be removed from the state Cabinet.

The rally was led by the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), an umbrella body of Meitei civil society groups, and was jointly backed by the United Naga Council (UNC) and several other Naga organisations. Parallel rallies were held in Senapati and Chandel districts, PTI reported.

March stopped short of Lok Bhavan

Participants set out from Tiddim Ground towards THAU Ground in Imphal West. Police put up barricades at Keisampat Junction, a few hundred metres from Lok Bhavan, the Chief Minister's office and the BJP state headquarters, and did not allow the procession to go further. No violence was reported at the rally.

COCOMI convenor Y Dhiren accused the state government of failing to protect lives and property. "We seek the resignation of the present government," he said, according to PTI. UNC president N G Lorho told the gathering that the Naga people would not give up their ancestral rights.

Six resolutions

The organisers adopted six resolutions, Northeast Now reported. They demanded that the SoO pact not be renewed, that designated camps be closed, and that weapons held under the agreement be fully accounted for. They also sought a National Register of Citizens with 1951 as the base year, replacement of the Assam Rifles with a force they described as neutral and accountable, tighter border surveillance, and the safe resettlement of people displaced since May 2023. One resolution called for the Deputy Chief Minister's "immediate removal" and warned that the groups would otherwise seek the government's resignation.

The SoO agreement was first signed in August 2008 by the Centre, the Manipur government and two umbrella groups, the Kuki National Organisation and the United People's Front. Reports say it lapsed in September this year without renewal. Security forces have since begun auditing designated camps. The Manipur Assembly had passed a resolution in February 2024 seeking its abrogation.

No response from the state government or the Deputy Chief Minister had been reported by Sunday.

Why it matters

Ethnic violence in Manipur since May 2023 has killed more than 300 people, according to PTI, and thousands remain in relief camps. A rally that brings together valley-based and Naga groups on a shared list of demands adds pressure on the state and Union governments as they decide what replaces the lapsed SoO framework.