Imphal: Hours after Manipur chief minister N. Biren Singh on Monday rejected the demand raised by 10 Kuki MLAs for a “separate administration”, equivalent to a separate state, comprising the Kuki tribal-dominated districts of Manipur, the 10 legislators in a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah reiterated their demand.

Of the 10 MLAs, seven of them are ruling BJP, in their letter to Shah said: “that Manipur is now partitioned, is the ground reality”.

“(After the May 3 ethnic violence), there are no tribals left in the Imphal valley. There are no (non-tribals) people belonging to the Meitei community left in the hills. The government of Manipur and its police machinery were communalised and used in the pogrom against the Kuki tribals,” the signed 3-page letter noted.

The 10 MLAs in their letter said that their people have lost faith in the Manipur government and can no longer imagine resettling in the valley where their lives are no longer safe.