In Manipur poll scene: 8 bodies and simmering anger

CHURACHANDPUR: The caskets at the makeshift altar where tribal women come every day to offer their respects are empty, the eight bodies they were meant for have awaited burial at a nearby morgue for close to a year and a half now, symbols of a protest that is again back in focus in the poll season in this district of Manipur.
Nine tribals had died in 2015 in a protest against the passage of three `antimigrant bills' by the Manipur assembly .Eight of the nine bodies still lie at the district hospital, while one was taken away by family members for burial last year. Of the nine deaths, six were in police firing and three in arson. Now, it is the spectre of the 2015 killings that is the main poll issue in the tribal-dominated Churachandpur and Pherzawl districts.
Churachandpur resident C Hangshing says, “Every day for the last over 500 days, people from different tribes have been coming to offer prayers. This will continue till the bodies are buried.“ The three bills, including the Protection of Manipur People (PMP) Bill, were passed following violent pro tests in Imphal valley calling for an Inner Line Permit (ILP) system to check the inflow of `outsiders'. Tribals in Churachandpur, however, say the bills are “anti-tribal“.
The two other bills are the Manipur Land Reform and Land Revenue (7th Amendment) Bill, 2015, and the Shops and Establishment (2nd Amendment) Bill, 2015.
BJP's candidate from Churachandpur, V Hang khalian, says the people had protested against the role of the sitting tribal MLAs as they hadn't raised their voice during the passage of the bills on August 31, 2015. It is very clear that the ruling Congress is despised here and former health minister, Congress's Phungzathang Tonsing, had to leave the party and is contesting on a National People's Party (NPP) ticket. But Tonsing said, “The main PMP Bill has already been rejected by the President, while the two other bills are with the Centre for further examination.“