37 Meitei legislators attended the public meeting called by Meitei vigilante group Arambai Tenggol on Wednesday at Kangla Fort in Imphal. The group had warned the legislators with public action if they fail to attend the meeting. Ahead of the event, security had been beefed up in and around the venue.

At Kangla Fort, Ministers and MLAs, including Chief Minister N Biren Singh, Minister of State for external Affairs Dr Rajkumar Ranjan Singh and former CM Okram Ibobi Singh, took oath to protect Manipur.

Earlier, a team from the Ministry of Home Affairs flew down from New Delhi and met with leaders of Arambai Tenggol on 22nd January 2024. Imphal Free Press, in its report, said that after the meeting, Arambai Tenggol leader Korounganba Khuman shared on Facebook that the group’s demands included making 1951 as base year for National Register of Citizens (NRC), abrogation of Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement with Kuki militants, deporting of all Myanmarese refugees to Mizoram, border fencing, removal of Assam Rifles and their replacement with other Central forces, and removal of Kukis from the ST list.

On 21st January 2024, 35 Members of Manipur Legislative Assembly unanimously passed a resolution and forwarded the representation to the Union Home Minister. The resolutions included immediate abrogation of SoO with armed militants that have violated ground rules, complete disarmament and replacement of central security forces especially the Assam Rifles.

The MLAs cautioned, “If the Government of India is unable to take any positive action as per these demands, we the legislators will take appropriate action in consultation with the public.”