UNC boycotts Congress MP

Imphal: United Naga Council (UNC), has boycotted newly elected Congress MP Alfred Kanngam Arthur, Alyson Abonmai, and S. Kho from public platforms and holding any position or leadership in Naga society for a period of seven years.

In the recent Lok Sabha election for Outer Manipur, four candidates contested: Alfred Kanngam Arthur as the Indian National Congress candidate; Alyson Abonmai and Kho John as independent candidates, while Kachui Timothy Zimik was fielded by the Naga People’s Front (NPF). The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) did not contest in Outer Manipur but supported the regional party NPF.

Alfred Arthur won the seat with a huge margin of 85,418 votes against his nearest rival, NPF candidate Kachui Timothy Zimik.

In a public notification issued on Thursday by UNC, it was mentioned that the newly elected Congress MP Arthur, along with the two independents, has been socially boycotted for a period of seven years from the date of issue of the notification.

The decision was taken according to the resolution adopted by the Naga apex body in its emergency assembly held on May 29 at Town Hall, Panchai, Chandel district, Manipur.

The notification said the three individuals, Kho John of the Poumai tribe, Allyson Abonmai of the Liangmai tribe, and Alfred Kanngam Arthur of the Tangkhul tribe failed to respect and honor the position of the United Naga Council in the recent 18th Lok Sabha election.

‘The Poumai, Liangmai, and Tangkhul tribes are sub-tribes of the Naga’.

The three individuals’ willful attempt to challenge the Naga people’s position has resulted in their being debarred from public platforms, the UNC notification said.

The Naga apex body cautioned all the constituent units, subordinate and associate units of the council, and the Naga populace to uphold the resolution of the UNC and enforce it accordingly in their respective jurisdictions.