On Monday, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) declared several Meitei Extremist Organisations, their factions, wings, and front organizations as unlawful associations under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for a five-year period.
These organizations include the Peoples’ Liberation Army (PLA) and its political wing; the Revolutionary Peoples’ Front (RPF); the United National Liberation Front (UNLF) and its armed wing, the Manipur Peoples’ Army (MPA); the Peoples’ Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK) and its armed wing; the Red Army.
Additionally, the Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP) and its armed wing, also known as the Red Army; the Kanglei Yaol Kanba Lup (KYKL); the Coordination Committee (CorCom); and the Alliance for Socialist Unity Kangleipak (ASUK), along with all their factions, wings, and front organizations, have been designated as unlawful associations for five years.
The ministry issued this notification, citing the exercise of powers conferred by the proviso to sub-section (3) of section 3 of the said Act.
According to the notification, the order will be effective from Monday (November 13, 2023), for a period of five years.
“In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 3 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (37 of 1967), the Central Government hereby declares the Meitei Extremist Organisations, namely, the Peoples’ Liberation Army (PLA) and its political wing, the Revolutionary Peoples’ Front (RPF), the United National Liberation Front (UNLF) and its armed wing, the Manipur Peoples’ Army (MPA), the Peoples’ Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK) and its armed wing, the ‘Red Army’, the Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP) and its armed wing, also called the ‘Red Army’, the Kanglei Yaol Kanba Lup (KYKL), the Coordination Committee (CorCom), and the Alliance for Socialist Unity Kangleipak (ASUK) along with all their factions, wings, and front organisations, as unlawful associations,” reads the notification.
The MHA stated that this action is based on inputs indicating that all Meitei Extremist Organisations—the PLA and its political wing RPF, the UNLF and its armed wing MPA, the PREPAK and its armed wing ‘Red Army’, the KCP and its armed wing also called the ‘Red Army’, the KYKL, the CorCom, and the ASUK—profess the aim of establishing an independent nation by secession of Manipur from India through armed struggle.
Moreover, these Meitei Extremist Organisations have allegedly engaged in activities prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India, employing armed means to attack and kill security forces, police, and civilians in Manipur.
The MHA notification further stated that these organizations have been involved in acts of intimidation, extortion, and looting of the civilian population to collect funds for their activities. They have made contacts with sources abroad to influence public opinion and secure assistance in the form of arms and training for achieving their secessionist objective. Additionally, they maintain camps in neighboring countries for sanctuaries, training, and clandestine procurement of arms and ammunition.
The Ministry emphasized that the activities of these Meitei Extremist Organisations are considered detrimental to the sovereignty and integrity of India, classifying them as unlawful associations.
Given these circumstances, the MHA asserted an immediate need to curb and control these organizations, suspecting that they may mobilize their cadres to escalate secessionist, subversive, terrorist, and violent activities. Their objectives include propagating anti-national activities in collaboration with forces inimical to the sovereignty and integrity of India, engaging in killings of civilians and targeting police and security force personnel, procuring illegal arms and ammunition from across the international border, and extorting funds from the public for their unlawful activities.
(Inputs from ANI)