Kuki body asks MLAs to skip Manipur Assembly session over unresolved demands

The Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM), the apex body of the Kuki community, has directed all Kuki-Zo legislators to remain absent from the Manipur Assembly session scheduled to begin on Wednesday, September 2, 2026. The session is set to run until September 7, with three sittings planned.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the KIM asserted that the resumption of legislative proceedings should not be interpreted as a return to normalcy. The organisation emphasised that the community's demand for a separate political administration remains unresolved, and therefore, participation in the Assembly would not reflect the ground reality.

The body urged Kuki-Zo MLAs to demonstrate solidarity with the community and warned that any legislator ignoring the directive would be seen as deviating from the collective political position of the Kuki people. "At this critical juncture, the Kuki-Zo MLAs must stand firmly with their people. Political representation cannot be divorced from the political will of the people," the KIM said.

The organisation reiterated that there can be no "business as usual" without a political settlement for the community, which has suffered since the ethnic conflict in Manipur erupted in May 2023.

Ten Kuki-Zo leaders, including seven from the Bharatiya Janata Party, were elected in the 2022 Manipur Assembly elections. One of them, Vunzagin Valte, passed away in February after a prolonged illness.