Kuki-Zo Council questioned the MLA’s silence during the deadly May 2023 violence, accusing him of political posturing and attempting to create a false impression of restored normalcy.
BY PC Bureau
December 9, 2025: A surprise visit by BJP MLA Yumnam Khemchand Singh to a Kuki relief camp in Ukhrul district has triggered widespread outrage, with multiple Kuki organisations denouncing the move as insensitive, opportunistic, and dangerously dismissive of the trauma endured by survivors of Manipur’s two-year-long conflict.
The Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) on Tuesday issued condemned the BJP MLA’s surprise visit to the relief camp in Ukhrul, calling it an “irresponsible publicity stunt” that trivialised the trauma of survivors still trapped in the aftermath of two years of violence.
In a statement dated December 9, the KZC accused the MLA of attempting to “project himself as a peace-maker” through a sudden, unannounced stop at the Litan Sareikhong IDP Relief Centre, without informing community leaders, camp authorities, or the district administration. The council said the act was neither meaningful nor welcome, emphasising: “Peace must be discussed at the appropriate table—not manufactured through photo opportunities or viral videos.”
Questioning Khemchand’s absence at the height of the conflict, the KZC asked why he remained silent during May 3–7, 2023, when Kuki-Zo families in Imphal and surrounding areas were attacked and displaced. “The wounds are deep, trust has been shattered, and no symbolic drop-in can undo the trauma faced by our people,” the statement read. The council added that Meitei movement to Ukhrul had never been restricted, calling the chosen venue “hardly an accomplishment” and describing the visit as “a casual stop during his leisure travel.”
The KZC further warned that such unannounced visits could spark misunderstanding or confrontation amid an ongoing conflict, accusing the MLA of exploiting the suffering of displaced families for political optics. “We abhor this insincere act,” the council said, urging all political figures to avoid Kuki-Zo areas without prior communication.
The controversy erupted on Monday after Khemchand, the former Manipur Speaker representing the Meitei-majority Singjamei constituency, visited the Litan Sareikhong relief camp under heavy security. His aides presented him as the first Meitei BJP legislator to set foot in a Kuki relief facility since the violence began in May 2023, describing the visit as a goodwill gesture ahead of Christmas.
Relief camp officials rejected this narrative, saying the MLA arrived around 9:30 a.m. when most inmates had left for daily-wage work. Only elderly people, women, and children remained. The Litan Sareikhong Relief Centre said Khemchand’s group “made an uninvited stop,” briefly took photographs with minors, and left within minutes. Leaders said neither the Kuki Inpi Ukhrul, the Kuki Students’ Organisation-Ukhrul, nor the Village Authority had been informed.
Meitei BJP MLA’s Surprise Visit to Kuki Camp Sparks Outrage in Manipur#ManipurCrisis #KukiCommunity #BJP #MeiteiKukiTensions #ReliefCampVisit #EthnicViolence https://t.co/DrCqY2oiQM
— POWER CORRIDORS (@power_corridors) December 8, 2025
Calling the visit “a calculated and opportunistic action aimed at gaining visibility,” the centre insisted that symbolic drop-ins and media-managed visuals cannot substitute genuine engagement or support. It accused certain Imphal-based media of airing selective footage to suggest a thaw in ethnic tensions, calling such coverage “highly unethical.”
The Kuki Inpi Ukhrul District (KIU) also issued a blistering condemnation, calling the visit “profoundly disrespectful” to traumatised IDPs. It criticised the MLA’s arrival with “an excessive number of security personnel,” saying it heightened anxiety among camp residents. The KIU asked the MLA directly: “Where were you during the outbreak of violence—when the Kukis were persecuted, displaced and subjected to unimaginable cruelty?”
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Khemchand’s visit, which included stops at the Sareikhong Baptist Church and Chassad Kuki village in Kamjong district, comes at a time when Manipur remains deeply polarised. More than 250 people have been killed and over 60,000 displaced since May 2023, with over 100,000 living in relief camps. The BJP-led state government collapsed early this year, leading to President’s Rule in February 2025.
While Khemchand’s camp insists the visit was a personal effort to encourage dialogue, Kuki bodies argue that reconciliation cannot be staged or scripted. They say meaningful peace requires transparency, accountability, and sustained engagement—conditions they insist were entirely absent in this episode.
As Christmas approaches, the fallout from the MLA’s controversial outreach appears to have reopened old wounds rather than building new bridges, leaving Manipur’s fragile peace process once again under strain.
