Imphal: Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla was airlifted in an Indian Army helicopter on Monday to avoid a mass of protestors along his return route, of about 6 km, from Imphal International Airport to Raj Bhavan.
Spearheaded by the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), a civil society, hundreds of people, including students, form a human chain along Tiddim Road from the airport’s departure gate to Keishampat Junction, stretching approximately 5.5 km. The demonstration was part of a wider state-wide agitation launched by the people’s committee demanding a public apology from Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla, as well as the immediate resignation or transfer of chief secretary P.K. Singh, security advisor Kuldiep Singh, and director general of police Rajiv Singh.
The demands have been pressed following the May 20 incident – a Manipur State Transport bus ferrying journalists to Ukhrul for the state-sponsored Shirui Lily Festival was stopped by central security personnel and ordered to remove the word “Manipur” from its signage. People strongly reacted against the incident as an insult to the people and the state’s identity. The governor, accompanied by the chief secretary, had departed for New Delhi on May 21 and returned to Imphal on Monday. The reason for his visit to the capital has not been disclosed.
Upon learning of Bhalla’s return, protesters staged the human chain demonstration along the road from the airport to Keishampat junction. The demonstrators held banners, a few of them read, “Governor should apologize”, “Apologize to Manipur or leave Manipur.” Security forces were deployed along the route. The governor and the chief secretary boarded an Indian Army helicopter and landed inside the historic Kangla Fort, from where Bhalla proceeded to Raj Bhavan. “We protest peacefully and democratically. Escaping by helicopter is highly condemnable. Why can’t he face the public? We will continue various forms of agitation until he apologizes to the people,” said a protester.
Demonstrators attempted to burn an effigy of the governor at Kwakeithel Bazaar. State police quickly intervened and confiscated the effigy and foiled the attempt. For about an hour from 3 pm to around 4 pm, all the vehicles passing in front of Raj Bhavan were diverted, which caused huge traffic congestion. A police officer said they were instructed not to pass any public vehicle in front of Raj Bhavan as security measures.” An individual stuck in traffic said, “Who is going to take responsibility if an individual rushing to the hospital dies on the route due to traffic congestion?”
Meanwhile, a seven-member delegation of COCOMI departed for New Delhi on Monday to hold an exclusive meeting with the Ministry of Home Affairs scheduled for Tuesday. The meeting aims to address unresolved political and security issues stemming from the ongoing Manipur crisis.
