IMPHAL, 15 Sep: Representatives of the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), an umbrella body of Imphal valley-based civil society organisations, met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and demanded withdrawal of the Assam Rifles from the state, alleging that the force is acting in a biased way.
The COCOMI, which represents Meitei groups, said in a statement that their representatives met Singh on Thursday at his residence in Delhi and submitted a memorandum.
In the memorandum, they claimed that the Kuki groups caused embarrassment to the government by approaching the United Nations for a resolution to the Manipur crisis.
They also raised with Singh the issues of narco-terrorism, illegal immigrants and their identification, as well as suspension of operations agreement, the statement said.
On the other side, the Kuki groups have been accusing the state police of bias.
Last month, 10 Kuki MLAs of the state appealed to PM Narendra Modi to not withdraw the Assam Rifles from the state, maintaining that this could jeopardise the security of the tribals. (PTI)