Manipur's opposition Congress demands Afspa repeal

After the killing of 14 civilians in Nagaland's Mon district on December 4, clamour for the repeal of Armed Forces (Special Power) Act, 1958, has grown in the neighbouring Manipur too.

Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee working president Keisham Meghachandra has urged chief minister N Biren Singh in Imphal to persuade Prime Minister Narendra Modi to repeal Afspa in the ongoing winter session of Parliament.

"Manipur Cabinet must adopt a resolution for the immediate removal of Afspa from the entire state," he told the media on Sunday.


Meghachandra said that the Congress government had earlier removed Afspa from Imphal's seven assembly constituencies. "If the Congress comes back to power in the 2022 elections, the first Cabinet meeting would decide on the immediate and complete removal of Afspa from the state," he added.


Meghalaya chief minister Conrad K Sangma, a BJP ally, had also demanded that Afspa be repealed. He had said Afspa was counterproductive and it hadn't helped solve the problem. "We urge the government of India to repeal Afspa," he had said.

The assembly elections in Manipur is scheduled for early next year. The BJP government in the state has extended the 'disturbed area', except in Imphal Municipality, for one more year.