Congress Top Brass Meet Manipur Unit After Massive COCOMI Rally
Congress top brass including Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi meet Manipur leadership following massive COCOMI rally demands in Imphal.
In a significant political move, the top leadership of the Congress party convened a high-level meeting with its Manipur state unit on Monday, November 2, 2026. The gathering, which took place at the New Delhi residence of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge at 10 Rajaji Marg, comes in the wake of escalating tensions and public outcry in Manipur following a major demonstration by the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI).
High-Level Deliberations in New Delhi
The meeting saw the presence of the party's most influential figures, signaling the importance the Congress leadership is attaching to the situation in the Northeast. Key attendees included:
- Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress President
- Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha
- KC Venugopal, Congress General Secretary (Organisation)
- The Manipur State President of the Congress party
The Catalyst: The Imphal Rally
The urgency of this meeting was triggered by a large-scale rally held in Imphal on Saturday, October 31, 2026. Organized by the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), the demonstration was notable for bringing together residents from both the hill and valley regions, highlighting a collective demand for stability and justice.
What the Protesters Demanded
The COCOMI-led rally focused on two critical pillars of grievance that have gripped the state:
- Abrogation of the SoO Agreement: Protesters called for the formal cancellation of the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement.
- Rehabilitation of IDPs: There was an urgent plea for the implementation of concrete measures to ensure that internally displaced persons (IDPs) can return to their homes safely and receive proper rehabilitation.
Concerns of a 'Proxy War'
Beyond the immediate administrative demands, the participants at the Imphal rally voiced deeper anxieties regarding the nature of the conflict. The demonstrators characterized the ongoing unrest as a "proxy war," suggesting that the violence is being fueled by external or hidden interests.
The rally participants demanded heightened accountability from both the government authorities and the security agencies, questioning the efficacy of the current response to the crisis. It is this atmosphere of volatility and the specific demands of the COCOMI rally that have now pushed the Congress leadership to strategize with its state unit in Manipur.