Merger agreement denounced
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, September 26 2015 :
A people's convention held at Wangoi community hall today de-nounced the merger agreement signed between the Govern-ment of India and the then titular king of Manipur, Maharaja Bodhachandra.
The convention was jointly organised by Coalition for Indigenes' Rights Campaign (CIRCA) and People Protection and Development Committee (PPDC) .
CIRCA spokesperson Ningthoucha Lancha while speaking at the convention said that the merger agreement signed on September 21, 1949 could not be validated as a merger agreement as Maharaja Bodhachadra was just a titular king of Manipur when he appended signature on the agreement.
As such, he could not represent the people of Manipur, he observed.
On the other hand, the merger agreement did not mention that Maharaja Bodha-chandra was appending signa- ture on behalf of the people of Manipur or the Manipur Legislative Assembly.
As such, the Maharaja appended his signature on the merger agreement on behalf of his royal family and royal palace alone, Ningthoucha Lancha observed.
Branding the agreement signed on September 21, 1949 as a 'death merger agreement', Lancha observed that there is need to enliven it through a fresh negotiation with the Government of India.
Regarding ILP implementation, Lancha opined that it seems that people have become silent after the last rites of Sapam Robinhood were performed although no progress is visible regarding implementation ILPS in the State.
The Governor has sent the three Bills passed by State Legislative Assembly to President Pranab Mukherjee for his assent.
However, the point to be discussed here is Pranab Mukherjee is the man who once allegedly suggested the Chief Ministers of Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh to abolish ILPS in their respective States, Lancha said.
He further observed that even if the President sends the three Bills to the Parliament for voting, it would still be hard to get 2/3rd majority in favour of the Bills.
Manipur is a State, which is suffering from different ailments and its administration is fully controlled by New Delhi, he said.