New Delhi: Losii Dikho, one of Manipur’s two deputy chief ministers, publicly accused a Kuki armed outfit led by his colleague Nemcha Kipgen’s husband of being behind this year’s killings of individuals belonging to the Naga community, and demanded that she either resign or act to end the bloodshed.Dikho told reporters on Wednesday (October 28) that he had “no doubt” about the group’s role. He said his conclusion rested on what people freed from captivity had told him. He also alleged that emissaries of the Union government and “political agencies” had approached Naga legislators in the state to “bring about an understanding” on their demand that action be taken against Nemcha Kipgen, PTI reported.Nemcha Kipgen’s husband, Thangboi Kipgen, heads the Kuki National Front (President), or KNF(P). The group is one of the outfits under the tripartite Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement, signed by the Union government, the Manipur Government and Kuki armed groups.The SoO agreement formally extended on September 4, 2025 after months of uncertainty, introduced key changes, including the relocation of designated camps, the surrender of double-locked weapons for six months and a clause requiring cadres to obtain Aadhaar cards – a move officials then said was aimed at improving oversight and addressing “law and order concerns” in conflict-ridden Manipur.The original 2008 SoO agreement carried the clause that any settlement “shall not affect the territorial integrity of Manipur”. While retaining this, the 2025 renewal crucially adds that negotiations will be pursued for a political settlement within the constitution in a time-bound manner.May-June hostageThe National Investigation Agency (NIA) is looking into the abduction and killing of six Naga men during the May-June hostage standoff between Nagas and Kukis in Kangpokpi and Senapati, an episode that further strained the relations between the two communities. Kipgen has earlier rejected claims that she colluded with militants.Senapati has a largely Naga population, whereas Kangpokpi is mainly dominated by Kuki-Zo, though pockets of Naga settlement exist there.Blaming the KNF(P) for violence in Kangpokpi, Dikho said, “She [Nemcha Kipgen] should say, ‘I am the Deputy CM of the state. Why should my husband’s organisation be fighting and killing people?’”“She should step down. If she does not want to leave her position, she should immediately tell her husband’s organisation to stop fighting and killing Nagas,” added Dikho, who has won the Mao seat in Senapati district three times on a Naga People’s Front ticket.Dikho is a Naga, Nemcha Kipgen a Kuki and chief minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh a Meitei, a combination which the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) assumed would give conflict-ridden Manipur some ethnic balance. They were giving charge of the state in a hurried oath-taking ceremony in February 2026, nearly a year after the Union government imposed President’s Rule in the state.Nemcha Kipgen’s appointment, in particular, was projected by the Union government as a progressive step in the direction of peace. However, she could not even participate in the oath-taking ceremony, and perhaps, in a first such instance, she had to be sworn-in from New Delhi’s Manipur Bhawan amidst huge protests in which she could not even address the protesters. She read out the oath virtually via a video link.The Naga People’s Front is a partner in the Manipur government and is part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). It also heads the government in Nagaland, where the BJP is its ally.In late August, Dikho and seven other Naga MLAs wrote to Union home minister Amit Shah asking him to take action against Nemcha Kipgen, arrest Kuki militant leaders accused of attacking Nagas, and scrap the SoO agreement.