MHA Secy urged to impress upon President to reject 3 Bills
Source: Hueiyen News Service / NNN
Imphal, September 24 2015:
A team of Manipur Tribals Forum, Delhi (MTFD) representatives along with a few Autonomous District Council (ADC) members from Churachandpur met Ashok Prasad, Internal Security, Special Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday to apprise him the team's meeting and discussion with the President of India Pranab Mukherjee on September 22 .
The team during the meeting requested Prasad to meet the President as it is learned from a local newspaper that the bills are referred to the President for his consideration.
"We strongly expressed that since he is the only one from the Central Government who had visited Churachandpur recently where 9 dead bodies are still lying unburied and personally met the people from the district and so his meeting with the President is crucial," the MTFD said.
The team strongly stressed on the need for giving response to the people's aspiration with sense of urgency from the Centre as the hill people from the State have lost their faith in the State Government.
According to the Forum, the scope of discussion with the State Government does not make sense since the Government has amply demonstrated a discriminatory approach towards the tribal people in the State on many occasions.
Given the kind of experiences and betrayals from the State Government it will finally end without any tangible result.
This is accentuated because of the differential power that exists between the valley districts and hill districts in the State Government.
"For a lasting peace, immediate political dialogue with all the stakeholders of the hill districts must be initiated without further delay.
Such dialogue can only be fructified with direct Central Government's engagement with the tribals of the State as the stand of the tribal people is very clear that the Manipur Government has failed to represent the aspiration of the tribals in the State.
Therefore, the State Government does not have any moral rights to take part in deciding the political aspiration of the tribals in the State," the MTFD added.
The team then expressed that they strongly opposed the content as well as the intent and the manner in which these three bills were passed.
"It is with regret that we have to say that the Government has taken a step that has caused irreparable damages to its relationship with the tribals in the State," the tribal forum members said.
The team again emphasized that the only option is a peaceful separation of hill and valley, and live together peacefully as a neighbours with mutual respect.