Tussle over Unified Command emerges

Jiribam, Sep 24
Leaked intelligence reports, a fresh flare-up in violence and, most importantly, the issue of who oversees the Unified Command is behind the relationship between the Manipur Government and the State’s security establishment becoming more strained than ever, top security officials and Government functionaries have told The Indian Express.
The Unified Command is meant to ensure coordination between the different forces present in the State, including the police, Army, Assam Rifles, and the various Central Armed Police Forces. Also tasked with taking key security decisions, it is currently headed by Kuldiep Singh, a retired IPS officer and Security Advisor to Chief Minister N Biren Singh.
Within the Government, top functionaries say the CM not being in charge renders him “completely powerless”.
“Even inputs on the security situation sent by the Chief Minister’s Office are not taken seriously by the DGP and the Security Advisor. The truth is that he (the CM) is currently completely powerless in this regard. This is not something that he can communicate directly to the Centre because that will be seen as interfering in the Centre’s wisdom,” said a top source in the Government.
While the CM has not commented on the issue publicly, since September 11, when violence flared again in the State and 11 people were killed within the span of a week, both the Government and Meitei protesters have reignited the demand.
On September 2, MLA and the CM’s son-in-law, RK Imo Singh, wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, appealing that Central forces be removed from the State and the leadership of the Unified Command be transferred to the CM. Ruling party MLAs led by the CM also met the Governor on September 8, and it is learnt that this was one of the matters raised there too.
However, security officials said the issue is politically motivated. “This demand, and even the protests which took place (by the Meitei community, against Central forces) are all diversionary in nature. This is raked up every time there is even a murmur that the State might see a change in political leadership. Why were all education institutions in the State closed to coincide with the protests ? The police had not recommended that internet services be snapped on September 10, but the Home Department issued a notification for it,” said a top security official, suggesting that the protesters are being propped up by the Government.
A ‘leaked’ report
The official also referred to an intelligence report that had been “leaked”, days after Jiribam district saw violence in June.
The communication – sent to the Manipur Director General of Police, the Security Advisor and the Chief Secretary – asked that a report be submitted explaining how violence in the district had flared on June 6. It referred to an alert sent by the CMO five months earlier, in January, to the DGP and the Security Advisor on reports of movement of “about 200 Kuki-Zo militants from Churachandpur to areas bordering Jiribam”, and requesting that security measures be taken to “prevent any untoward incident”.
Though the Manipur CM has maintained a studied silence on the issue of the Unified Command, those close to him have been more vocal. With no let-up in violence in the State, the demands from within the Government might only grow louder.
Referring to this report, the official said, “That enabled them (the Government) to push all responsibility to the officers. But there are hundreds of intelligence inputs that are received, and this had been sent in January after which there were five months of peace.”
Another intelligence input from the Chief Minister’s Office to the DGP, Security Advisor, Chief Secretary and Home Commissioner emerged this week, which stated that “over 900 Kuki militants, newly trained in the use of drone-based bombs, projectiles, missiles and jungle warfare, have entered Manipur from Myanmar”.
This time, the security establishment was quick to respond, with Kuldiep Singh addressing the press in Imphal just days later. In his first press conference in months, he spoke about security measures taken since the recent violence, and said that security agencies have been put on high alert in the hill districts bordering Myanmar following the input.
Said another official, “Security officials are not working for popularity, so it doesn’t matter. But the political leaders are, and the pushing of blame works to protect them from criticism. He (the CM) is showing that he is doing his best but there are barriers in his way.”
Kuldiep Singh entered the fray as the CM’s Security Advisor soon after ethnic violence first broke out in May last year, when the then DGP, P Doungel, was sidelined. Then, after Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited the State later that month, 1993 batch Tripura cadre IPS officer Rajiv Singh was appointed the new DGP, despite the presence of more senior IPS officers in the Manipur cadre.
Shah had then announced the appointment of Kuldiep Singh as head of the Unified Command, instead of the Chief Minister, who is a Meitei and is blamed by the Kuki-Zomi community for the violence.
According to the order dated May 31, 2023, the Chief Minister may call for meetings of the Unified Command if necessary. According to a security official, he has not called any so far this year.
The emotive issue has united Meiteis across party lines. Inner Manipur Congress MP Bimol Akoijam has also raised the demand that the leadership of the Unified Command be with the Chief Minister, while qualifying that he does not mean to “defend” Biren Singh.
“I have realised… (the idea is) that keep this person entangled this way, and then you throw all the blame on Biren Singh. Then the Prime Minister remains spotless… Biren is a minor player in this conflict… Biren orders something and the Assam Rifles and CRPF refuse to comply,” he told The Indian Express in an interview.
The Indian Express