New Delhi: Amid rising tensions between Manipur’s two major tribal communities, the Kuki-Zo and the Nagas, Naga Deputy Chief Minister Losii Dikho has warned that the state’s nine Naga MLAs may have no option but to resign from the BJP-led government if violence against the community continues.
“We have to do that (withdraw support). How can we survive like this? We can’t go further to have a civil war now. Manipur is a small state. Our withdrawal from the government, if it happens, will be for peace,” Dikho, the Naga MLA from Senapati, told ThePrint in an interview Thursday.
Even if the Naga MLAs withdraw their support, the Yumnam Khemchand Singh-led BJP government is unlikely to be in danger, as it has a comfortable majority in the current 58-member Manipur Assembly. Two seats remain vacant after the death of two MLAs – one from BJP and the second from its ally, the National People’s Party (NPP).
The BJP-led coalition, which took charge in February after the President’s Rule ended, has altogether 53 MLAs. While two Naga MLAs are from the BJP, five are from the Naga People’s Front (NPF), one from NPP, and one is an Independent.
To maintain the ethnic balance in the government, the Khemchand Singh government has two deputy chief ministers. While Dikho is from the NPF, the other deputy chief minister is Nemcha Kipgen, a BJP legislator representing the Kukis. The term of the present government ends in February 2027.
Manipur has seen renewed tension since the last couple of months between the Kuki-Zo and Naga communities. The Nagas had remained neutral since the ethnic conflict first erupted in May 2023 between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities.
The ethnic clashes, which has so far claimed over 300 lives and displaced 60,000 people, had led to the resignation of the Biren Singh-led BJP government in February 2025 and imposition of President’s Rule. The Manipur Assembly was, however, not dissolved but put under suspended animation.
There was a lull in violence during the President’s Rule, which ended in February. But after Khemchand Singh took charge that month, tensions soon resurfaced. The conflict then entered a new phase, with the Nagas getting drawn in. What began as a Meitei-Kuki-Zo conflict gradually shifted to one between the Kuki-Zos and Nagas.
Dikho attributes “political motivation” behind the renewal of tension. “There are vested interests who don’t want peace in Manipur,” he said.
‘Why is Nemcha Kipgen silent?’
The Nagas, he said, cannot work in such a situation. “Who can tolerate such heinous crimes? Have you ever seen that in our country? There are so many good Kuki people also, the Thadous, Hmar Paiteis…. They don’t want violence, they want peace. But there are some people who have created this. And, that is why Mrs Nemcha has to intervene,” he said.
“Because her husband, who heads KNF(P) and lives under the same roof, is perpetuating the violence against the Nagas.”
Kipgen’s husband Thangboi Kipgen heads the Kuki National Front (President), one of the Kuki militant groups that has signed the Suspension of Operations (SoO) with the Centre and Manipur government to give up violence.
The tripartite agreement for cessation of violence was extended in September 2025. But Dikho said that on the ground things are different.
He and the eight other Naga MLAs wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah last week, alleging that Thangboi Kipgen is fuelling the current spate of violence against the Nagas. They also demanded action against the Kuki deputy CM for colluding with militants groups and failing to intervene.
“The Centre has given the mandate to us (Khemchand Singh govt) to go and pacify the people, bring normalcy. With that understanding, I went to every village… to Meitei village, Kuki village, Thadou village, everywhere
“But I am sorry to say, my colleague Nemcha Kipgen did not go to any place. She did not visit Naga villages to pacify. And she did not speak anything when six Naga people were abducted and killed. And it is proven that her husband’s organization, the KNF(P) is behind the abduction and killing of Naga civilians,” Dikho alleged.
He said that before killing the six Naga civilians, the KNF(P) representatives told him that they had captured them. Later, they also claimed openly in Churachandpur that the Nagas hostages were killed. “Why did Nemcha Kipgen not intervene? Why did she not condemn? When we are trying to bring peace, why is she keeping silent?” Dikho asked.
The Nagas, Dikho said, are angry. “Why do you (Kipgen) continue to let your people fight? When our people are killed in this manner, people cannot go out… we can’t remain silent. Our people do not have the defensive equipment. So, how can we expect that having this kind of government with such people will bring peace?”
The Manipur deputy CM further said that Nagas are also demanding abrogation of SoO because Kuki underground groups were not following the ground rules of the agreement.
“They are sending cadres all over. They fought with Meiteis and Nagas now. They should remain in the SoO camps but it is not done. This is the problem.”
‘Land, illegal immigrants behind Manipur conflict’
Dikho said that Nagas and Kukis have a history of conflict. “The last conflict between the two communities that erupted in the early 90s lasted for five years. The problem is land. And, illegal immigrants.”
The Naga community, according to Dikho, claim that the land in the hills originally belongs to them.
He alleged that the grounds for the present conflict was laid during the reign of former chief minister Biren Singh. “What started between Meiteis and Kukis has expanded and the Nagas have been drawn into the conflict now. All the three communities have got involved in the conflict. Now, the only thing left is that we have to legally, democratically bring some solution. That is why I think the Centre has held back the Census.”
Dikho said that his message to the two communities is to stop the conflict. “Let us come to the negotiation table. In the last conflict too, it took a lot of time to heal. But we should not wait for time now. We have already experienced it. We know the cost. So, the people should strive for peace. Even if we take the whole land, without peace what will we do?” he asserted.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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