GUWAHATI: A controversy erupted in Manipur on Tuesday after security personnel allegedly stopped a group of 20 journalists from travelling to cover the Shirui Lily Festival in the Naga-majority Ukhrul district. The media team was travelling in a government bus marked “Manipur State Transport” when they were told to hide the signage by the security forces.The incident occurred at the Gwaltabi checkpoint in Imphal East, about 25 km from Imphal. Following the instructions, the journalists returned to Imphal instead of continuing to the festival.The five-day festival, a state-sponsored event celebrating Manipur’s state flower, the Shirui Lily, was inaugurated on Tuesday by Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla. The festival had already drawn attention after an FIR was filed against a Kuki student leader who allegedly threatened that Meiteis would not be allowed to cross buffer zones to attend the event. The route to Ukhrul passes through several Kuki villages.The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), based in Imphal Valley, strongly criticised the incident. In a statement, it said the actions of the security personnel seemed like a deliberate attempt to undermine the authority and legitimacy of the Manipur government within its own territory.“Such behaviour is not only careless but also seems to align with the intentions of illegal elements trying to destabilise the region over the past two years,” the group said.
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