Chaoba suggests open seminar
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, July 17 2015 :
It would be politically prudent if an open seminar is organised in order to elicit opinions and views of all sections of the society before a new Bill is drafted in the line of Inner Line Permit System, said BJP Manipur Pradesh president Th Chaoba.
Speaking to media persons at their Nityaipat Chuthek office here today, Chaoba maintained that the process of drafting and passing a Bill would be repeated again and again if the Bill is drafted entirely by the Government.
BJP too is deeply concerned with the issue of ILPS.
Before drafting a Bill, an open seminar should be organised, and representatives of all political parties, legal experts, academicians, NGOs and JCILPS should be invited to the seminar.
If such a seminar is organised at the initiative of JCILPS, it would be even better.
In such a case, there would be little reservations based on political affiliations.
All the participants of the meeting should be allowed to share their views and thoughts on the issue in order to draft a comprehensive Bill which can safeguard the common interests of the State's indigenous people.
If neither the Government nor the JCILPS are willing to take the initiative of organising an open seminar, BJP would take the onus, Chaoba said.
Asserting that BJP stayed away from the all political parties' meeting convened by the Government recently as the party has little faith in the incumbent Government, Chaoba maintained that there was a huge public outcry on account of inserting the words 'migrant workers' in the MRVTMW Bill 2015 as the same term is referred in the Union List.
It is BJP's desire to introduce a new Bill which is within the realm of State List and acceptable to the general public.
A five-member committee of BJP Manipur Pradesh headed by Dr RK Ranjan has been studying the issue of ILPS.
A second meeting of the committee was held today and many important documents have been collected.
Recommendations of the committee would be submitted to the Government and the same would be published to public, Chaoba said.
He then decried the Government's stoic silence regarding the people's demand for an enquiry into the killing of Sapam Robinhood.
Inordinate delaying would only complicate the issue, he added.