The Wire Staff 
New Delhi: Accusing the the solicitor general (SG) of ‘misleading’ the Supreme Court, 10 Kuki MLAs on Sunday (November 10) denied having met Manipur chief minister N. Biren Singh since May 3 last year.
The MLAs in a joint statement said that the SG Tushar Mehta’s submission in court that “CM is meeting all Kuki MLAs and trying to bring the situation down to get peace” is a “blatant lie” and “tantamount to misleading” the apex court.
The Supreme Court on Friday (November 8) had said that it will examine the audio recording which allegedly points to Singh’s role in the communal violence ravaging the state since May last year. During the hearing, while arguing against the court’s examination of the tapes, Mehta had asserted that the Singh was meeting with Kuki MLAs.
“We, the undersigned ten MLAs, have come to know that during the Supreme Court hearing held on November 8, 2024, the Solicitor General of India submitted that ‘CM is meeting all Kuki MLAs and trying to bring the situation down to get peace’. In this connection, we hereby categorically stated that this submission is a blatant lie and tantamount to misleading the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India,” the MLAs’ statement read.
The MLAs also questioned Mehta’s “unprofessional conduct” for not cross checking facts before making submissions in the Supreme Court.
They said that they had not met Singh since May 3, 2023 and did not have “any intention to meet him in future” alleging that “he is the mastermind behind the violence and ethnic cleansing of our people from the Imphal valley”.
Referring to the latest incidence of violence in the state, the MLAs expressed strong discontent over the killing of Zosangkim Hmar in Jiribam district on Thursday, despite heavy security presence in the area. “We strongly condemn the barbaric killing of a defenseless woman by the Meitei militias” the MLAs said.
The statement has been signed by MLAs Haokholet Kipgen, Nemcha Kipgen, Letpao Haokip, Ngursanglur Sanate, Paolienlal Haokip, L.M Khaute, Letzamang Haokip, Kimneo Haokip Hangshing, Chinlunthang and Nunezagin Valte.
Manipur tapes
The audio recording – ostensibly of a meeting held at Biren’s official residence in 2023 – which was submitted to the Union home ministry-established Commission of Inquiry on the violence in Manipur were reported on by The Wire‘s Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty earlier this year.
The Wire was unable to independently establish that the person heard speaking on the recording about the violence in Manipur is indeed Biren Singh, but confirmed the date, subject and contents of this meeting with some of the participants, none of whom was willing to be identified because of fears for their safety.
Among several incendiary statements heard on the audio recording is the claim that at least two Meitei outfits banned under the UAPA were brought together with security forces, that the use of lethally destructive ammunition was supported and that there was no proof that two Kuki women paraded naked on a viral tape were raped.
The ethnic strife in Manipur has lead to the deaths of 226 people, the displacement of several others and left the state divided along communal lines.
Read the ‘Manipur Tapes’ reports in parts: 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.