DESAM regrets, clarifies
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, March 28 2017: While conveying sincere regrets over the inconveniences caused to the PREPAK by the 17 hours bandh called on March 26, DESAM has clarified that the bandh was not called deliberately to hurt PREPAK.

PREPAK was right in saying that the bandh was called out of emotion.

DESAM called the bandh as it was overwhelmed by emotion.

DESAM members were so overwhelmed by emotion that none of them even remembered that March 26 was the Red Army's Uprising Day, said a press release issued by DESAM secretary general N Edison.

DESAM was disturbed when it was declared that a non-local man had been elected to the Manipur Legislative Assembly from Jiribam AC.

The incumbent Government should not commit the blunder of thinking that people have no objection to election of a non-local man just because they are silent.

The Government need to be alert that the massive civil movement witnessed in the State for over three months in 2015 may be repeated.

When the new Council of Ministers was expanded on March 23, the non-local MLA was given a prominent place inside the State Government by inducting him as a Parliamentary Secretary.

The day would remain a black day in the history of Manipur, DESAM remarked.

The news struck DESAM like thunder bolt and they were at a loss about what course of action they should take.

Yet, they were convinced that induction of the non-local MLA should be protested vehemently one way or another.

At the same time, DESAM was in no position to hold other forms of protest like protest rallies, sit-in-protest, gheraoing Government offices etc for lack of volunteers as most of them were busy taking their own brothers and sisters to Class X and Class XII exam centres and back.

The only option left to DESAM was to call a bandh, it clarified.

Nonetheless, DESAM chose a day where the bandh would have minimum impact on education and the ongoing board exams.

As such, the bandh fell on Sunday.

When Congress party gave ticket to Kharga Tamang to contest the last State Assembly election, JCILPS and the people of Manipur raised strong objection and JCILPS asked Kharga Tamang to withdraw his candidature but he went ahead and contested the election as an independent candidate.

What JCILPS told Kharga Tamang was not restricted to him alone.

It was applicable to all intending non-indigenous candidates including Ashab Uddin, it continued.

Reacting to Chief Minister N Biren's statement that he was helpless as people had already elected Ashab Uddin, DESAM said that it was aware of the Chief Minister's helplessness in the particular situation.

But DESAM was appealing not to give any key position to the non-local people and it was well within the Chief Minister's capacity.

DESAM went on to question what would happen if a non-local man is allowed to take part in enacting a law which would restrict entry of non-local people into the State.

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