CSOs raise call against dual administration in Manipur
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, July 24 2018:
Asserting that the Government of India has been constantly threatening the integrity of Manipur, AMUCO, CCSK and UCM have called upon all the people of Manipur to be prepared for a mass movement which would determine the future of Manipur.
Speaking to media persons at the Kwakeithel office of AMUCO today, CCSK vice-president Jitendra Ningomba remarked that the protracted political dialogue between the Government of India and NSCN-IM has entered a critical phase which can disintegrate Manipur as indicated by the feedback given by Interlocutor RN Ravi to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs.
RN Ravi talked about enforcing Article 371 (A) which is currently enforced in Nagaland.
Taking serious note of the changing dynamics of the Framework Agreement, AMUCO, CCSK and UCM had urged all the elected representatives to discuss the matter in the just adjourned Monsoon session of the State Assembly but the issue did not figure among the agenda of the House session and it deserves outright condemnation, Jitendra said.
Article 371(C) is currently enforced in Manipur but RN Ravi was talking about inserting a number of new provisions which is highly unconstitutional, he remarked.
The underlying implication of RN Ravi's statement is about granting administrative and financial autonomy to Naga inhabited areas of Manipur Granting administrative and financial autonomy to Naga inhabited areas of Manipur will be tantamount to creation of a State within a State which means defacto bifurcation of Manipur, he said.
It is a matter of great concern that neither the State Assembly nor the State Government bothered to condemn the Interlocutor's statement, Jitendra decried.
One spokesman of BJP Manipur Pradesh showed sheer arrogance by dismissing Article 371 (A) as something unsubstantial which will have no bearing on Manipur.
He warned that the State Government and the Opposition parties should be held accountable if any solution to the Naga peace talk upsets the State's administration and integrity.
UCM vice-president Kshetrimayum Somorendro said that massive civil movement would be launched if the Government of India seals any final solution to the Naga peace talk without first consulting the Government of Manipur and other stake holders.
AMUCO president Ph Deban decried that the Government of India has been threatening the integrity of Manipur every now and then.
Alleging that the Government of India has actively pursuing a politics of dividing the people of Manipur on ethnic lines, Deban demanded an immediate halt to such diabolic politics.
It is a matter of serious concern that neither the State Government nor the State Assembly took any notice of RN Ravi's statement that Article 371 (A) may be applied in some parts of States neighbouring Nagaland with local adjustments.
Recalling how Manipur was reduced to the pathetic status of a Part C State after its merger with the Indian Union and the sustained people's movement before Manipur was granted Statehood, Deban alleged that the Government of India has been suppressing Manipur throughout its contemporary history.
Asking if the peace talks initiated by the Government of India with different communities are not aimed at disintegrating Manipur, the AMUCO president declared that the people of Manipur will fight collectively all the sectarian policies and sinister conspiracies of the Government of India aimed at disintegrating Manipur.
He also called upon all the people to be prepared for a sustained civil movement which will determine the future of Manipur.