Guwahati: Manipur CM Yumnam Khemchand Singh on Saturday said his priority since assuming office has been to reunite the people of the strife-torn state, asserting that groups with ‘vested interests’ were attempting to sabotage the govt’s peace initiatives.Addressing a BJP mandal-level political workers’ conference at Lilong, the state’s lone Muslim-majority assembly constituency in Thoubal district, Khemchand said those trying to prevent the return of peace would ultimately fail.“I firmly believe there are certain vested interests who do not want peace to return in the state and are attempting to derail the peace initiatives undertaken by the govt. … Such ill-intentioned individuals cannot continue to disrupt the lives of the common people indefinitely. Honesty and sincerity will ultimately prevail over them. God will not forgive them,” he said.Khemchand cited his outreach efforts and said he made two visits to violence-hit Jiribam district bordering Assam. During his first visit by helicopter, he met internally displaced persons and families of victims from both the Meitei and Hmar communities.On his second visit by road, he interacted with members of the Kuki, Hmar, Paite, Meitei, Meitei Muslim and Rongmei Naga communities, saying around 400 people from different communities shared a meal together as a gesture of reconciliation.The chief minister said communities in Jiribam were now living peacefully side by side, but added that the govt’s efforts suffered a setback after the Tronglaobi blast in Bishnupur district, in which two children were killed.Khemchand also paid tribute to former chief minister Mohammed Alimuddin, Manipur’s first chief minister after statehood in 1972 and a former representative of the Lilong constituency, praising his vision of communal harmony and peaceful coexistence.Responding to concerns over his visits to sensitive and conflict-prone areas, the chief minister said he remained committed to restoring normalcy despite the risks. “Every person is born and is destined to die one day,” he said, reaffirming his resolve to continue the peace mission.Govt spokesperson Thokchom Radheshyam told party workers that the chief minister was travelling to districts such as Jiribam, Ukhrul, Senapati and Kangpokpi as ‘a messenger of peace’ and urged BJP workers to contribute towards restoring peace and normalcy in the state.The conference was attended by several BJP MLAs, including Paonam Brojen Singh, Tongbram Robindro Singh, L Rameshwor Meitei, Khwairakpam Raghumani Singh, S Premchandra Singh and former MLA Y Antas Khan.
