UNC opposes ADC election in new districts
Source: Chronicle News Service / Newmai News Network
Senapati, September 07 2022:
After a long hiatus, United Naga Council (UNC) has reiterated its opposition to the 'new districts' of the state created on December 8, 2016 .
In a statement made available to Newmai News Network on Wednesday night, UNC said that it will oppose the conduct of 'separate ADC elections in the new districts under any circumstances' .
The apex Naga body also rejected the 6th and 7th Amendment of the Manipur (Hill Areas) District Council Bill, 2022 .
The statement, "Today's United Naga Council (UNC) emergency presidential council meeting held in Imphal reiterated the position of the Naga people on newly created districts of December 8, 2016 and it also outrightly rejected the 6th and 7th Amendment of the Manipur (Hill Areas) District Council Bill, 2022" .
With regard to the ere ation of new district(s), UNC said that the state government and Naga people signed four Memoranda of Understandings (MoUs) on December 14, 1981, November 10, 1992, September 27, 1996 and June 23, 1998 and also the intervention of the Government of India on November 24, 2011 mandated that all stakeholders including Naga body(s), who would be affected by such creation, would be consulted.
The spirit of signing the MoUs and the intervention of Government of India is that "Naga people would be consulted while creating new district(s)", While Nagas are upholding the MoUs and respecting the intervention of Government of India, the state government "treacherously" created seven new districts on December 8, 2016 .
In response, a Naga Consultative Meet' was held on December 12, 2016 at Tahamzam (Senapati) and resolved to demand roll back of the newly created seven districts.
The UNC statement also recalled how the body imposed 139 days of economic blockade on the national highways in the state and how it lifted the economic blockade following a tripartite talk held among the Centre, state government and representatives of UNC on March 19, 2017 .
Since then, there have been nine rounds of inconclusive tripartite talks at political level, the statement added.
"Therefore, the decision of UNC taken on December 12, 2016 to roll back the newly created districts still stands.
And also, UNC will oppose the conduct of separate ADC elections in the newly created districts under any circumstances," the UNC statement added.