Meitei Christians to Kukis remove our churches name from SC suit

Imphal: The Meitei Christian Church Council Manipur (MCCCM), a united body representing the Meitei churches of Manipur, on Sunday told the Manipur Tribal Forum Delhi (MTFD) that all Meitei churches Remove the names of the houses from the list of churches that they mentioned in the manuscript. An interlocutory petition will be filed in the Supreme Court of India in the next hearing.
The MTFD has already filed a writ petition (No. 540/2023) in the Supreme Court regarding attacks against the Kuki community by two armed sectarian outfits “Arambi Tenggol” and “Meeti Leepun” in Manipur. The intervention of the Supreme Court has been demanded.
The writ petition was listed for hearing on May 8, and the second hearing on May 17. The apex court will hear the petition in the first week of July after the summer vacation of the apex court is over.
The MTFD is preparing a draft interlocutory petition before the court during the third hearing, detailing how Meitei militants torched 251 churches during the inter-communal violence that broke out on May 3 and Arun.
“We have received a draft copy of the Interlocutory Application (IA) of the Manipur Tribal Forum Delhi’s Writ Petition (not in the Supreme Court). It has come to our knowledge that the Kukis have incorporated 70 of the 251 Mete Churches. which were burnt and vandalised. Two communities in the list of Kuki churches during communal clashes,” MCCCM general secretary Sanjam Kakanti said in a statement here on Sunday.
“We strongly condemn this attempt to associate Meitei churches with Kukis in the above writ petition. We appeal to the writ petitioner Manipuri Tribal Forum Delhi to remove the names of Meitei churches from the petition. Remove it,” said Kakanti.
“The petitioner should be held responsible for any consequences that may arise from the incorporation of the Meitei churches without the consent of the individual churches,” Kakanti also said.
“We are dedicated to maintaining peace, unity and harmony among all communities and are determined to protect the integrity of the state,” he added.
Christian organizations in Manipur say around 300 churches were burnt during communal violence between two communities in Manipur.

According to unofficial estimates, the death toll has exceeded 100, with more than 20,000 houses destroyed and more than 50,000 people displaced in the region.