Torch rally in Imphal demanding special Assembly session

The rallies were held around 9.30 pm on Wednesday at Keisampat, Keisamthong and Kwakeithel in Imphal West district, and Wangkhei and Kongba in Imphal East district.

Manipur Rally, Representative image. Credit- PTI Photo

Numerous women organized torch rallies throughout the Imphal valley, advocating for a special session of the Manipur Assembly to be called before the Monsoon Session of Parliament concludes.

The rallies were held around 9.30 pm on Wednesday at Keisampat, Keisamthong and Kwakeithel in Imphal West district, and Wangkhei and Kongba in Imphal East district.

"In the Assembly session, the government should pass a resolution to protect the state's territorial integrity and send it to Parliament while it is still in session," Ingudam Babita, one of the participants of the rally, told reporters at Wangkhei.

The women also raised slogans against the demand for separate administration by Kuki groups, and for the implementation of NRC to identify "illegal" immigrants in the state and deport them.

The Manipur Cabinet last week recommended Governor Anusuiya Uikey convene a session of the Assembly from August 21.

Violence erupted in Manipur after the Assembly session in March. Last Saturday, the Meitei apex group called for a 24-hour general strike to demand a special session of the Assembly, which brought life in Imphal valley to a standstill.

The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), an umbrella body of several Imphalbased civil society organisations had also announced on August 6 a "boycott of the state government" for its failure to convene an emergency session of the Assembly and inept handling of the ongoing unrest in the state, which has so far claimed over 160 lives.