IMPHAL: The Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee has strongly opposed the recent statements from Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma with the suggestion of unified leadership for the Kuki-Zo community.
MPCC chief spokesperson Hareshwar Goswami criticized the Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma's statement made at a Kuki diaspora gathering in the United States on September 4, 2024, and said it undermines both India's unity and integrity, as well as those of Manipur. He released a statement at the press conference arranged by the party at the Congress Bhawan on Wednesday.
As narrated by Hareshwar, Lalduhoma appears to be holding concurrence with the sentiment toward the unification of the Kuki people under a single leadership and identity that could define borders between India, Myanmar, and Bangladesh. Upon pointing out that Lalduhoma declares the Kuki community as "one people—brothers and sisters—unjustly divided under three different governments," Lalduhoma's statement has fueled debates regarding its implications.
Mizoram Department of Information and Public Relations had sanctioned these statements, which fanned the controversy further by infusing it with an air of official position, according to Hareshwar.
The Hareshwar condemned Lalduhoma's remarks as unfortunate, with the lady's statement echoing back to reportedly former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's statements relating to having a separate, Christian-majority nation for the Kuki people. He argued that the Mizoram CM's remarks seemed intended to bring forth divisive sentiments rather than incorporating the principles of unity under the parliamentary democracy of India.
He further goes on to question the silence of the BJP government at the center and state level toward Lalduhoma's statements, questioning whether there was any intent behind it to deepen communal divides.
He regretted but reminded the gathering that the Congress was concerned with the well-being of the nation and reiterated its promise to protect the integrity of India and its democratic values. He demanded the government take up the issue head-on without further delay by taking on a single voice against rhetoric that would menace the social texture of Manipur and India alike.
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