Manipur: Kuki-Zo Council Slams Meitei MLA’s “Publicity Stunt” Visit to IDP Camp

Imphal: The Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) "condemned" Meitei BJP MLA Yumnam Khemchand Singh for what it described as a “cheap publicity stunt” after he made an unannounced visit to a Kuki-Zo relief camp housing internally displaced persons (IDPs) at Litan Sareikhong in Ukhrul, Manipur, on Sunday evening.

In a statement, the KZC said the Jiribam MLA neither informed Kuki-Zo community leaders, camp management, nor the district administration before dropping by.

They stated that Khemchand was returning from a party meeting with local BJP workers when he made the impromptu stop, took photographs and videos with displaced families, and later circulated them widely on social media, portraying himself as a champion of peace.

“Where was Yumnam Khemchand between May 3–7, 2023, when Kuki-Zo homes in Imphal and surrounding areas were burned and thousands were forced to flee for their lives?” the Council asked. “His complete silence during the worst phase of the violence and his sudden ‘concern’ now, after 19 months, simply do not add up. The trauma is still raw, trust is broken, and no photo-op can heal those wounds.”

The KZC also pointed out that Ukhrul and other Tangkhul Naga-dominated areas have never restricted movement for Meiteis, making the visit “no act of bravery or reconciliation.”

Terming the gesture “insincere and opportunistic,” the Council warned all individuals — politicians or otherwise — against entering Kuki-Zo areas or relief camps without prior coordination with community leaders, stressing that with ethnic tensions still simmering, surprise visits risk misunderstandings and fresh confrontations.

“Real peace is built through honest dialogue at the right forums, not manufactured through viral videos and staged photographs,” the statement read, adding that the Kuki-Zo people reject any attempt to exploit IDP suffering for personal or political mileage.

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