The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) has appealed to President Droupadi Murmu to take concrete measures to protect the constitutional rights of the people of Manipur during her two-day visit to the state. The appeal comes as the President is scheduled to attend the Nupi Lal Day observance on December 12.

Speaking to the media, COCOMI Convenor Khuraijam Athouba said the President, as the guardian of the Constitution, must ensure that fundamental rights guaranteed to citizens are upheld in Manipur. He highlighted that thousands of residents displaced since the outbreak of violence in May 2023 continue to live as refugees within their own state.

Athouba recalled that the government had earlier promised to complete the resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in three phases before the end of December. With only 21 days remaining in the month, he expressed concern over the lack of substantial progress and urged the President to announce a clear, time-bound roadmap for the safe return of all IDPs to their homes.

COCOMI and IDP groups have been staging daily sit-ins at Lamboikhongnangkhong since December 1 to draw attention to their unresolved grievances. Athouba criticised the state government for prioritising events such as the Sangai Festival even as the humanitarian crisis continued.

He further stated that constitutionally guaranteed freedom of movement is not being realised in Manipur, citing restrictions faced by certain communities along National Highways 2 and 37. He emphasised that the President’s intervention is essential to restoring rights, security, and normalcy.

COCOMI also questioned whether the President’s silence on these issues would suggest that Manipur falls outside her concern as the head of the Republic. The organisation announced that its volunteers will spend nights in relief camps to better understand the hardships experienced by displaced families, and urged senior bureaucrats to do the same.