Ibobi mulls constitution of new bill drafting committee comprising of JCILPS members
Source: Hueiyen News Service

Imphal, July 13 2015 : Manipur Chief Minister O Ibobi has expressed the intention of constituting a committee comprising of members from Joint Action Committee on Inner Line Permit System (JCILPS) to draft a new bill that would replace the controversial Manipur Regulation of Visitors, Tenants and Migrant Workers Bill, 2015 or MRVT&MW Bill.

As of now, the MRVT&MW Bill has been reserved by the Governor for the consideration of the President of India.

The Chief Minister disclosed this to editors of Imphal based dailies during an interaction on Monday.

Ibobi also stated that he has been contemplating the idea of taking in the suggestions of all stake-holders but would not shy away from consulting a legal luminary of national repute so as to dissect the problematic areas which contravened the provisions of the Constitution of India.

As for the fate of the MRVT&MW Bill which has been passed by the State Legislative Assembly, the Chief Minster looked quite unsure but said there could be a legally viable leeway so that the next bill could be drafted considering the key points raised by the JCILPS.

If the new bill is drafted and passed by the Assembly, it would be an unprecedented step taken up by the State.

It may be noted that the JCILPS felt the necessity of bringing in a mechanism where all migrants should obtain a permit or pass while entering Manipur by stating the purpose of their visit with specified period.

The committee also made it clear that all those migrants who came after 1951 should be put in the category of migrants and not settlers.

To implement the same, JCILPS stressed the need to empower a full-fledged labour department to strictly register and regulate migrants besides introducing a mechanism to detect and deport illegal migrants and non-indigenous persons who violated the provision of the proposed rule.

As of now, the Chief Minister is more concerned about roping in legal experts so that the proposed new bill fulfils the aspirations of the people while not drawing the wrath of the Centre.

While it is too early to comment on how Ibobi is going to constitute the new drafting committee, he looks convinced of his statement given on the introduction of ILPS for the "protection of the indigenous people" during his address at the security meeting of all Northeastern Chief Ministers with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Guwahati on Saturday last.

It may be recalled that Ibobi had insisted on a suitable legislation for protection of the people of Manipur from unabated influx of migrants as done in neighbouring States like Nagaland, Mizoram and also Arunachal Pradesh.

He has said the Centre should bring in uniform legislation for all the Northeast States on the issue in line with the ILP.

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