Lay off : Sanajaoba to Mizoram MP

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Nov 25 : "Don't cross the line" and "be a good neighbour", said MP Leishemba Sanajaoba hitting out at Mizoram MP K Vanlalvena for advocating "separate administrative units" for Meiteis and Kuki-Zo people to end the conflict in Manipur.
MP Leishemba Sanajaoba's sharp response came after the fellow Rajya Sabha MP from Mizoram pitched a "2-step solution" to the 573 days old conflict.
Vanlalvena, a leader of BJP ally Mizo National Front (MNF) reportedly told the Press Trust of India in an interview that the first step should be the removal of the N Biren Singh Government and the imposition of President's Rule.
The Mizoram MP described this as "the first and immediate step" to contain the violence.
He further said that the period of the President's Rule should be used to "demarcate the lands occupied by the Meiteis and tribal communities".
"Imposition of President's Rule is inevitable for the immediate solution. During such period, the Centre should thoroughly study the situation and demarcate lands occupied by both Meiteis and tribal communities," Vanlalvena told the PTI.
As the second step, Vanlalvena said that the two communities should be administered separately as the divide is "very wide".
"The hill tribes can't go to the valley. Similarly, the Meiteis no longer dare to go to the hill areas. New administrative units should be created in lands occupied by both the Meiteis and the ethnic Kuki-Zo people to bring a lasting solution and end the conflict," he said.
This pitch from the Mizoram MP invited sharp response from MP Leishemba Sanajaoba.
"My friend, Don't cross the line.. Please confine in your State issues.. Stop interferences in Manipur's issues.. Be a good neighbour," said Leishemba Sanajaoba on X.
While the Mizoram MP has been criticised for meddling in Manipur's affairs, netizens and people from various sections have pointed out "fictitious" and "bogus" claims in his pitch for solution to the conflict.
The MP's claim that "hill tribes can't go to the valley" is "completely false" and this statement is designed to drag other neutral tribes like the Naga into the conflict and legitimise the deceptive assertion that there is a divide between the hill and the valley, they said.
"There are many other hill tribes besides the Kuki-Zos in Manipur. The Kuki-Zos do not represent the whole of the hill tribes. There are Nagas and others who have maintained neutrality. They are able to go to the valley and do normal businesses. There is no divide or division," they asserted.
There is a sinister design to create and show before India and the world that the hills of Manipur and its valley have been divided and they can't coexist. Such efforts will only bring chaos and fuel the conflict, they added.
This is not the first time that the Mizoram MP is known to have rubbed the neighbouring States the wrong way.
Back in 2021, the Assam Police had summoned the Rajya Sabha MP for allegedly making threatening statements.
The Assam Police had said it will take “lawful action” against Vanlalvena, who is said to have made threatening statements in question during an interview with news channels.
Back in 2021 Vanlalvena allegedly said in an interview, “More than 200 policemen entered our territory and they pushed back our policemen from our own posts and they gave firing orders first, before we fired. They are lucky that we didn’t kill them all. If they come again, we shall kill them all.” His statements were in connection with violent clashes that broke out along the Assam-Mizoram border, in which five policemen and a civilian were killed.
The violent conflict since May 3, 2023 completes 1 year, 6 months and 23 days on November 25.