In two separate identical clarifications issued by the Litan Sareikhong Relief Centre and statements from the Kuki Inpi Ukhrul (KIU), Meitei MLA Y. Khemchand made an unannounced visit to the relief camp at around 9:30 a.m. on Monday, a time when most adult inmates had already left for work, leaving behind only women, children, and elderly residents.
The clarification states that the MLA, accompanied by BJP workers, “used the absence of responsible inmates to take photographs with unsuspecting children” before departing shortly afterward.
The KIU described this as a breach of protocol, calling the act “uninvited, unauthorized, and deeply insensitive” to the situation of Kuki IDPs displaced since the May 3, 2025 ethnic violence.
In its press release, the KIU further questioned the MLA’s silence during the peak of the conflict, asserting that “true goodwill cannot be proclaimed through sudden appearances” when justice remains unmet. The organisation said the visit created “distress” among IDPs still living under trauma.
Both the KIU and camp authorities also alleged that certain valley-based media houses merged two unrelated video clips — the MLA’s brief stop at the camp and a separate interview with an IDP inmate — to falsely suggest an interaction between the MLA and camp residents. They termed the portrayal “highly unethical” and urged correction.
The KSO-Ukhrul, Village Authority, and Youth Club of Litan Sareikhong stated they were neither informed nor involved in the visit, distancing themselves from what they described as a calculated attempt to create misleading optics during an ongoing humanitarian crisis.
