Even as hundreds of people, student organisations, and Kuki-Zomi civil society outfits on Friday afternoon protested at Jantar Mantar in Delhi over the case of abduction, gang-rape and sexual assault of three Kuki-Zo women that came to light recently, a Meitei organisation has now accused the Delhi Police of discriminating against them by not allowing them to have their own protests in the city.
The Meitei Heritage Society, in a statement issued on July 21, said that a similar protest had been planned by Christian associations of Meitei people on July 15 but that the Delhi Police had rejected permission for this demonstration citing “security, law and order and traffic”.
The Meitei Christian Churches Council (MCCC) along with the Meitei Heritage Society were prevented from holding their event at Jantar Mantar earlier this week, following which they had gathered at the Constitution Club of India, where Meitei Christian leaders spoke to “set the record straight” about the ongoing violence in the State.
With Friday’s protest at Jantar Mantar widely joined by student outfits from all over the city in addition to Kuki-Zomi organisations, the Meitei Heritage Society issued a statement demanding “equal right to express freely and protest peacefully” and accusing the Delhi Police of “favouritism”.
The MHS said that they had applied for permission to protest at Jantar Mantar on July 6 but the permission was rejected by the Delhi Police on July 14. Further, they added that MCCC leader Rohan Phillem was detained by the police on July 15 till the time they had managed to secure a place at the CCI.
“During the interaction with our team on the evening of July 14, 2023 at his office, the DCP [Deputy Commissioner of Police] told us that all planned protests on Manipur had been rejected or would not be allowed till July 30, 2023,” the MHS said.
The MHS said that by “allowing the Chin Kuki community” to protest at Jantar Mantar, “the Delhi police has blatantly discriminated against the Meitei community and we see no good reason to deny us the right to peaceful protest”, adding, “This display of favouritism, duplicity and preferential treatment towards one community raises questions about the equal protection of the rights of all citizens, regardless of their background or beliefs.”
The outfit went on to say, “This incident raises serious concerns about the suppression of the Meitei Christian community’s voice and the attempts to silence those who seek justice and protection of Meitei Christians.”
The Delhi Police PRO directed questions about this statement to the DCP, New Delhi, who has not responded to The Hindu’s questions on this matter.
However, in the last two months, several Meitei outfits, from Manipur and from Delhi, have held multiple demonstrations over the ongoing conflict - just as several Kuki-Zomi organisations have.
At the protest on Friday, student outfits and others primarily demanded that Chief Minister N. Biren Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah resign from their positions in light of the ongoing conflict in Manipur. The protesters also called for impartial probes into the cases of violence in the State.
