Source: The Sangai Express
New Delhi, September 04:
While defending the Manipur Government's right to modify the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said the State .Government was grappling with a difficult situation and it needed "our sympathy and support".
Asked if the decision of the State Government to lift AFSPA from Imphal East and West Districts would have a bearing on the Centre-State relations, Singh said the Act was enforced in Manipur by an explicit decision of the State Government which had the "right to modify it".
"They have the right...
and have made a slight modification in that it is not applicable to Imphal East and Imphal West (districts).
It is still applicable to the rest of the State," he told a press conference here.
Stating that the polity and economy of the country were resilient enough and actions of the State Governments did not pose a threat to the federal structure of the Republic, Singh said, "Manipur (Government) is grappling with a difficult situation.