Reacting to recent statement made by former minister K Therie that separate administration was the option for Manipur, NSCN (I-M) through its MIP, termed it as a “controversial statement” in line with Kuki-Zo’s demand for separate administration in Manipur. MIP said Therie’s statement was “not surprising as he is a person who always found himself the odd man out.”
Further, MIP stated that Therie’s statement also reflected his “poor knowledge” of the geopolitical issue in Manipur. NSCN (I-M) asserted that it stayed away from getting involved in any manner, considering the sensitivity of the issue involved. It said it had only referred to the issue by making its stand “sharp and clear” that not even an inch of Naga territory should be touched in the name of geopolitical arrangement for the Kuki-Zo community in Manipur.
However, Therie’s “unmerited concern” for the Kuki-Zo community for separate administration was like a “voice crying in the wilderness” for the Kuki-Zo community, MIP stated.
MIP asked Therie to look at the Kuki-Zo demand for separate administration within the larger context of Naga’s geopolitical issue and not from the Kuki-Zo geopolitical perspective. “Moreover he is a person who has lost the representative status of his people consecutively, making his voice irrelevant anywhere on any issue,” MIP stated.
MIP therefore advised Therie to “stay low and cool his heels” and stay away from Meitie-Kuki-Zo ethnic issue. It also advised him to avoid giving any comment/statement that was “bigger that what he can chew.”