MP Bimol Akoijam hit hard to PM & HM for internal divide in Manipur

Professor Angomcha Bimol Akoijam, Member of Parliament from Inner Manipur, launched a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, accusing them of presiding over an “internal divide” in Manipur and allowing a security arrangement under President’s Rule that, he said, was facilitating an artificial and dangerous partition of the state.
Reacting to his being stopped by Central security forces during a visit to Saiton village yesterday in Bishnupur district, Akoijam questioned how an elected Member of Parliament could be denied access to an Indian village, describing the restriction as a grave democratic and constitutional aberration.
The MP had visited Saiton on January 6 following recent IED explosions in the area that injured two civilians. The blasts reportedly occurred near an abandoned Meitei residence close to the inter-district boundary, intensifying fears over civilian safety in conflict-affected zones.
During the visit, security personnel prevented him from moving beyond a checkpoint citing a so-called buffer zone, which Akoijam described as illegal and unprecedented within Indian territory. He said the restriction effectively amounted to the creation of a new internal boundary.
Standing at the checkpoint, the MP remarked that the buffer zone marked a division within the country itself, stating that it had turned into an “India–Kuki border,” beyond which he was not permitted to proceed.
Akoijam noted that such restrictions on parliamentarians had not been witnessed in other riot-affected parts of the country and termed the Manipur situation exceptional and alarming. He warned that the continued enforcement of buffer zones would deepen mistrust, weaken constitutional and federal norms, and institutionalise division instead of restoring peace and normalcy in the state.