ATCFM to oppose Congress
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, March 27, 2014:
Toeing on the footsteps of KISG and SANPO, the All Tribal Chiefs' Forum, Manipur (ATCFM) has decided to 'oppose' Congress candidates of both Inner and Outer Manipur PCs in the ensuing Lok Sabha Election.
Besides this announcement to oppose the Congress candidates, the ATCFM has called a 12 hours hill areas bandh from 6am of April 3 to put across several demands.
This was decided during the consultative meeting of ATCFM held on March 24 at Hotel Imphal.
According to a statement issued by the ATCFM secretary, Kabidon Gonmei and president Tongpu Kipgen, the decision to oppose the Congress candidate in the LS poll has been taken due to several reasons including allotment of 50 percent, 25 PC and 25 PC of MGNREGS funds to the VA, District Councils and Line department respectively under a State Govt order instead of allotting the whole funds to the VAs concerned.
Among other reasons that prompted the chiefs to oppose the Congress candidates included constitution of VDC by divesting the powers and functions of VAs; non-sanction of financial power to ADC; non-acceptance of the Govt for transferring of tribal land records from the Valley districts to the DCs concerned in the hill districts; inclusion of tribal villages of the hill districts under valley police stations; failure to safeguard the reservation quota.