With two prominent Kuki-Zo groups signing a suspension of operations agreement with the Centre on re-negotiated terms and conditions, the Congress on Thursday said it had created the breakthrough in the first place as the SoO pact first came into force on August 1, 2005 and was allowed to lapse in February 2024.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said much is being made of Thursday's Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement with the Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and United People's Front (UPF) in Manipur to "pave the way for the PM's visit to the state on Sept 13th".
"SoO first came into force on August 1, 2005. It was subsequently formalised on August 22, 2008. It was allowed to lapse in February 2024. If anything, state BJP leaders had been critical of SoO," Ramesh said in a post on X.
It was the Congress that created the breakthrough in the first place, he added.
Officials said the signing of the SoO pact with the KNO and UPF is set to have a positive impact on peace efforts in Manipur.
Separately, civil society group Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) has decided to open the National Highway-2, which passes through the northeastern state, for a free movement of commuters and essential goods.
The move comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's likely visit to Manipur next week, the first since ethnic violence broke out between Meiteis and Kukis in the state in May 2023.
The pact was signed after a series of meetings between officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and a delegation of Kuki groups over the last few days here, according to a statement issued by the MHA.
Manipur has been witnessing ethnic violence since May 3, 2023, after a tribal solidarity march was taken out in the hill districts of the state, in protest against the majority Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
Since then, about 260 people, including members of both the Kuki and Meitei communities as well as security personnel, have been killed in the violence. However, there has been relative peace in Manipur in the last few months.
"A tripartite meeting among representatives of MHA, government of Manipur and Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and United People's Front (UPF) was held at New Delhi today. The meeting concluded with the signing of a tripartite Suspension of Operations agreement on re-negotiated terms and conditions (ground rules) to be effective from the day of signing of the agreement for a period of one year," the statement said.
The other provisions include that the territorial integrity of Manipur will be maintained. Everyone agreed on the need for a negotiated solution to bring lasting peace and stability to the strife-torn northeastern state.
The KNO and UPF have also agreed to relocate seven designated camps away from areas vulnerable to conflict, reduce the number of designated camps, relocate weapons to the nearest CRPF and BSF camps, and a stringent physical verification of their cadre by security forces to de-list foreign nationals, if any.
There are seven constituents of the UPF and 16 of the KNO.
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