One Manipur Deputy CM seeks action against another

Manipur Deputy Chief Minister Losii Dikho has urged the Centre to take punitive measures against fellow Deputy Chief Minister Nemcha Kipgen for “colluding” with a Kuki insurgent group allegedly involved in the killing of Naga civilians.

Mr. Dikho and eight other Naga MLAs also threatened to pull out of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in Manipur if no action is taken against Ms. Kipgen and the leaders of Kuki-Zo extremist groups.

Five of these MLAs, including Mr. Dikho, are from the Naga People’s Front (NPF), two are from the BJP, one from the National People’s Party, and one is an Independent.

They listed their demand in a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah on August 29. “The letter was hand-delivered today (Monday),” Mr. Dikho said.

In the letter, the MLAs demanded the arrest of Kuki-Zo leaders, who publicly claimed responsibility for the killing and dismemberment of six Naga civilians, whose mutilated bodies were recovered on June 10, almost a month after they were abducted.

They also demanded the arrest of Thangboi Kipgen, the head of the extremist Kuki National Front (Presidential) faction and Ms. Kipgen’s husband.

“Initiate action against Deputy Chief Minister Nemcha Kipgen as her office is colluding with the Kuki militant group led by her husband Thangboi Kipgen…” the letter read.

The Naga MLAs further demanded the immediate abrogation of the Suspension of Operation agreement that the Centre had signed with 25 Kuki-Zo rebel groups in 2008, citing alleged repeated violations and acts of terror against civilians.

“When the mutilated bodies of the six Naga men are still unclaimed in protest against the non-arrest of the perpetrators, another four Naga men were mercilessly killed in the IT road ambush on August 27, carried out by the Kuki militants,” the MLAs wrote, citing some other incidents of violence.

They warned that if action were not initiated, they would be “unable to defend or adequately respond to the challenges raised by the public concerning our continued support to the Government of Manipur.”

“This step is being taken solely in the larger interest of the people of Manipur, and out of absolute necessity,” they further wrote.

Manipur had 10 Naga MLAs. One of them, N. Kayisii of the NPP, died in January 2025.