IMPHAL: The
Coordination Committee
(CorCom), an umbrella group of Manipuri militant outfits, has called upon the people of the state to boycott Prime Minister
Narendra Modi's visit on February 25 to address a BJP election rally. The joint rebel group has called for a total shutdown in Manipur from 6am till whenever the PM leaves the state.
The group said emergency services, hospitals staffs and patients, water supply, religious function, electricity, fire services and media persons will be exempted from the purview of the total shutdown.
CorCom comprises four outfits - the United National Liberation Front (UNLF), the People's Liberation Army (PLA), the People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (Prepak), Prepak (Progressive).
Calling the PM's visit to the state yet another step to suppress the people of the state, the group said its boycott is part of its policy to oppose visits by the topmost Indian leader. In the name of development, Indian leaders will try to trap the people and strengthen their colonial rule, a statement issued by the outfit said here on Thursday.
CorCom accused the government of India of suppressing the people of Manipur for the last 67 years, subjecting the state to atrocities. It said the indigenous people of the state have been struggling against "occupational forces" and accused the Centre of playing divisive politics to create rifts between the various communities of the state.
Modi is arriving here on February 25 to join BJP's election campaign for Manipur assembly polls. He will address an election rally at Langjing Achouba ground in Imphal West. State BJP leaders and workers have long been waiting for Modi's rally as they hoped the PM's address could change the electoral landscape.
Earlier, BJP had planned Modi's rally inside the historic Kangla Fort here, but the party changed the venue after Irom Sharmila Chanu's newly floated party, People's Resurgence and Justice Alliance (PRJA), lodged a complaint with the
Election Commission arguing that Kangla is a sacred place where many religious sites are located. The EC prohibits any site of religious significance from being an election rally site.