Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s no-show in strife-torn Manipur appears to have made him unwelcome in neighbouring Mizoram, going by a protest proposed by the Mizo Zirlai Pawl, the state’s apex student organisation.

The MZP has not only decided to stage a massive protest if Modi visits Mizoram but to do so by donning the puandum, an attire worn by Mizo women to mourn the dead or to express extreme distress.

The proposed protest will be against Modi’s failure to visit Manipur even six months after the Meitei-Kuki strife began on May 3, leaving at least 181 dead and over 67,000 displaced.

The situation has flared up again following the kidnapping of four Kuki-Zo people on November 7 and the disappearance of two Meitei teenagers since November 5.

The MZP’s decision was articulated by its president, H. Lalthianghlima, during a sit-in organised by the North East Students’ Organisation (NESO) in Aizawl on Thursday, demanding the restoration of permanent peace in Manipur.

Lalthianghlima told The Telegraph on Friday that the student organisation would protest against Modi while wearing the puandum.

The MZP’s decision, which comes days after the November 7 Assembly polls in Mizoram, reflects the anguish that the Manipur unrest has caused the Mizos, who share the same ancestry as the Kuki-Zos. The overall public mood in Mizoram seems tilted against Modi and the Centre for their inability to end the Manipur violence.

Modi’s proposed pre-poll visit to Mizoram on October 30 was cancelled because of more pressing engagements. The cancellation came days after chief minister Zoramthanga said in an interview that he wouldn’t share the stage with the Prime Minister when he visited the state for campaigning.

“No, I will not share the stage with him because... the people of Mizoram are Christians,” Zoramthanga had said on November 23.

“When the Manipur people, the Meitei people, burn hundreds of churches there... they (Mizos) are cent per cent against that kind of idea. To have sympathy with the BJP at this time, it will be a big minus point for my party.”

Mizoram is ruled by the Mizo National Front (MNF), a partner in the BJP-led NDA.

According to Lalthianghlima, the MZP wants whoever becomes the new Mizoram chief minister to visit Manipur and play a role in restoring peace. Zoramthanga has extended all possible support to the affected Kuki-Zo people of Manipur, but is yet to visit the neighbouring state.

The Kuki-Zos live mostly in the hills and the Meiteis mostly in the valley. While the Kuki-Zos are mostly Christian, the Meiteis are mostly Hindu.

The NESO organised the sit-in in all state capitals in the Northeast. Jerry H. Pulamte, an NESO council member representing the MZP, said: “Modi is not welcome to Mizoram (for what is happening in Manipur). Period.”

During the sit-in by NESO units on Thursday, the All Manipur Students Union in Imphal and the Naga Students’ Federation in Kohima too rued the Centre’s inability to resolve the crisis.

The overall Manipur situation remains fragile.

The kidnapping of four Kuki-Zos (related to a soldier) allegedly by a Meitei mob from a checkpoint manned by security forces at Kangchup Chingkhong on November 7, and the disappearance of two Meitei teenagers on Sunday from Imphal West have fuelled fresh rounds of protests and tension.

Two bodies with bullet wounds have been recovered in the Imphal Valley. The Kuki Inpi Manipur, the apex body of Kukis in Manipur, has claimed the bodies are those of two among the four abducted on Tuesday.

Manipur’s BJP chief minister, N. Biren Singh, on Friday reviewed the security situation with senior police and Assam Rifles officials, among others.