Demanding Assembly session to take stand against FA...UCM flocks to Speaker's residence
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, August 19 2018: Demanding a special session of the Manipur Legislative Assembly at the earliest in order to adopt a resolution which rejects any communal administrative system which may be arranged as a result of the political dialogue going on between GoI and NSCN-IM, women members of UCM flocked at the residence of Speaker Y Khemchand.

The women volunteers marched to the Chingamathak Yumnam Leikai residence of the Speaker this afternoon shouting slogans like "Identity of Manipur cannot be compromised", "Assembly session should be convened at the earliest" .

"We condemn Government of India's sectarian policy", "Long live Manipur" etc.

The marchers were stopped by a team of Imphal West District Police led by SP H Jogeshchandra just near the residential gate of the Speaker.

Nonetheless, the police team led six women leaders inside the Speaker's residence.

The women activists submitted a memorandum and urged the Speaker to convene an Assembly session at the earliest.

The memorandum urged all the legislators of the State to leave aside their political affiliations and raise befitting questions which must be answered by the Union Home Minister in order to get a clear picture of the solution being worked out between GoI and NSCN-IM.

It urged all the MLAs to adopt a unanimous resolution in the State Assembly to the effect that any communal or ethnic based administrative arrangement would not be tolerated.

The memorandum further urged the legislators to come with a common declaration that they will join hands with the people of Manipur and fight collectively any communal policy devised by the Government of India which would polarise different communities of the State.

If the legislators cannot fulfil these demands, they must accept that they cannot work in accordance with the people's pulse and they must step down from their respective posts, said the memorandum.

After they had finished their talk, Y Khemchand came out with the women leaders till the spot where the other marchers were gathered.

Later speaking to media persons, M Ramani, one of the leaders of the women activists, said that they were told by the Speaker that he has no authority to convene any Assembly session but the Government can.

Nonetheless, the Government has been studying the prevailing situation, Ramani conveyed as stated by the Speaker.

Ramani reiterated the collective stand of UCM and other civil organisations that the integrity of Manipur and the sanctity of its territorial boundary should not be disturbed under any circumstances, and the contents of the Framework Agreement signed between GoI and NSCN-IM on August 3, 2015 should be disclosed to public.

Meanwhile, mass protest demonstrations were staged today at Khongman Zone IV and Zone V asserting that Article 371A or any similar administrative arrangement should not be enforced in any part of Manipur.

The protest demonstrations were organised by the Social Workers' Congress and the Meeyamgi Yaipha Nupi Lup, Khongman.

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