The Assam Rifles in Manipur have issued a legal notice to a Manipur politician for making “derogatory remarks” about the central paramilitary force, reported The Hindu on Monday.

In the defamation notice, the Assam Rifles have sought a written and public apology from Maheshwar Thounaojam, the national secretary of the Republican Party of India (Athawale), for the statements he made at the “Condolence of Meitei Martyrs” in Delhi on June 30.

The paramilitary force said that in the meeting, Thounaojam, a member of the Meitei community, accused them of helping Kuki militants.

“That means the Assam Rifles has to be removed immediately from Manipur,” the force quoted Thounaojam as saying in the notice. “...Does the Assam Rifles have a major role in the violence that has been going on for two months?”

The Assam Rifles said that Thounaojam’s remarks have caused considerable harm to the reputation and standing of the paramilitary force before the public, according to The Indian Express.

It added that the paramilitary force has been diligently serving the country, playing a crucial role in ensuring peace, security and development in various regions, including Manipur.

They have demanded that Thounaojam make a public apology through prominent media outlets within 15 days of receiving the legal notice.

Thounaojam, however, told The Hindu that he would not apologise and that he was entitled to free speech in a democracy.

“I did not make a statement, it was a question that I asked,” the politician said. “I did not speak as a politician, but as a Meitei. Every Meitei here knows how some Assam Rifles officials dance and sing with Kuki militants, there are videos to prove this. I was merely reiterating something which is known to all Meitei people here.”

Earlier this month, 40 MLAs from Manipur had urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to replace some battalions of the Assam Rifleswith “trustworthy Central forces” and teams of the state police.

Prior to this, the Manipur government had passed an order to replace the Assam Rifles personnel deployed at a crucial buffer zone between Meitei and Kuki-dominated areas with the state police and the Central Reserve Police Force.

At least 190 people have been killed and nearly 60,000 have been forced to flee their homes since clashes broke out between the Kuki and Meitei communities in the Northeastern state on May 3. The state has reported cases of rape and murder, and mobs have looted police armoury and set several homes on fire despite the heavy presence of central security forces.

Also read: In Manipur, the Assam Rifles and state police are training their guns on each other