To pressurise Centre to enact Bills...All-party delegation to leave for Delhi on May 16
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, May 09 2016: As decided at a meeting of all political parties held today, an all-party delegation headed by Chief Minister O Ibobi would leave for New Delhi on May 16 .

The team will station at Delhi till May 20 and meet officials of different departments to find out where the Bills passed by the Manipur Legislative Assembly on August 31 last year are being detained.

The meeting held today at the Chief Minister's Secretariat at 9 am was presided by Chief Minister O Ibobi and it was participated by 33 representatives of different political parties including Congress, BJP, CPI, LJP, MPP, Trinamool Congress.

However, NPF did not attend the meeting.

All-party delegation to leave for Delhi on May 16

After thread-bare deliberation, the meeting resolved that a delegation of all political parties would be deputed to New Delhi to urge the Government of India to give assent to the three Bills passed unanimously by the Manipur Legislative Assembly.

The meeting also discussed the vehement objections raised against the Bills at Churachandpur.

Briefing media persons at their Nityaipat Chuthek office, former BJP Manipur Pradesh president Sh Shantikumar said that BJP been taking active roles in all public issues and it has never shied away from its responsibilities.

In the same vein, BJP has been taking an active role in the current issue about enactment of a Constitutional safeguard for protection of indigenous people of Manipur.

The Protection of Manipur People Bill 2015, the Manipur Land Revenue and Land Reforms (7th Amendment) Bill 2015 and the Manipur Shops and Establishments (2nd Amendment) Bill 2015 were passed unanimously by the State Assembly.

It is only natural for the public to question what the political parties have been doing when the Bills passed eight months back were literally swept under the carpet, Shantikumar said.

As a political party, BJP would tell the Central Government all that must be told.

But first it is essential to find out where the Bills are being detained, whether it is in the Home Ministry, Law Ministry or the Prime Minister's Office.

He said that the all-party delegation would take along a memorandum to New Delhi.

The Bills should be passed in such a manner that they do not infringe upon the interests and rights of either hill people or plain people.

It is also important to find out whether the President is withholding the Bills on account of certain loopholes inherent in the Bills.

The all-party meeting also discussed about consulting Supreme Court lawyers to find out if there are any loopholes in the three Bills.