Northeast Desk, 7th December: Lalduhoma, the chief minister-designate of Mizoram, announced plans to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar soon. The discussions will focus on addressing the challenges posed by refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh, as well as internally displaced individuals from Manipur, who have sought refuge in Mizoram.
Following his party’s victory in the assembly polls, Lalduhoma, leader of the Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM), visited Governor Dr Hari Babu Kambhampati at Raj Bhavan to stake claim to form the new government. The swearing-in ceremony for his government is expected to take place on Friday.
In a statement to reporters after the meeting with the governor, Lalduhoma revealed that he had held telephonic conversations with the Home Minister and External Affairs Minister on Tuesday. He expressed his intention to meet them in Delhi to explore collaborative efforts between the central and state governments in addressing the needs of refugees and displaced people.
The 73-year-old ZPM leader emphasized that, on humanitarian grounds, his government would continue providing shelter to refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh, along with internally displaced individuals from Manipur. Lalduhoma conveyed his commitment to assess if his government could enhance relief measures compared to those implemented by the outgoing MNF government.
Having unseated the Zoramthanga-led Mizo National Front (MNF), the ZPM secured 27 out of the total 40 assembly seats in Monday’s elections.
Lalduhoma, a former IPS officer with past service as the security in charge of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, outlined his intention to discuss the country’s policy towards refugees from Myanmar with his civil service batchmate, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. He expressed optimism that the Centre would extend assistance to the state government in addressing the humanitarian issue of Myanmar refugees.
Mizoram currently hosts more than 31,300 Myanmar nationals and over 1,100 Bangladeshi nationals, according to the state home department. The Myanmar nationals, predominantly from the Chin community with ethnic ties to Mizos, sought refuge following a military coup in February 2021. Additionally, the Bawm or Mizo community from Bangladesh’s Chittagong Hill Tracts, and nearly 12,000 internally displaced people from Manipur, have found shelter in Mizoram due to various circumstances.
The outgoing MNF government had previously appealed to the Centre in May for financial assistance amounting to Rs 10 crore for the internally displaced people from Manipur. While the Centre assured assistance in kind in September, as of now, no aid has been received, as reported by a home department official. The state government has disbursed Rs 5 crore from its exchequer, supplemented by over Rs 80 lakh in donations from government employees, to support the internally displaced people.
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