Chief Minister N Biren Singh said territorial Integrity of Manipur will be protected at all costs, reacting to a demand made by 10 MLAs for a separate administration for the Kuki-dominated districts of the northeastern state. The chief minister, who had made an air-dash to Delhi to confer with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, said measures are being taken to ensure that militants, who had signed a peace pact dubbed suspension of operations’, return to their designated camps.
Singh also appealed to people not to hold dharnas or rallies in view of the sensitive phase the state has been witnessing since race riots between the majority Meiteis and the Kukis earlier this month. He also said no force would be used to break the blockades imposed by some groups on highways in the state in the wake of the rioting, and instead efforts would be made to reason with these demonstrators.