Congress continues campaign to open FA pact
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, November 29 2017: Former Chief Minister and Congress Legislature Party leader Okram Ibobi reiterated that the Congress party would never accept any provisions for the disintegration of Manipur and anything that can pave way and sow the seeds for disintegration of Manipur in the Framework Agreement signed between Govt of India and NSCN-IM .

O Ibobi was speaking at the demonstration of Congress workers to demand disclosure of contents of FA organised by Wabagai BCC at Wabagai Lamkhai Bazar today .

CLP leader O Ibobi said that the series of demonstrations organised by the Congress demanding the disclosure of contents of FA is not political, but for protection of Manipur's integrity .

Congress continues campaign to open FA pact

He said the sit-in protest will be sustained until the disclosure of contents of the Framework Agreement and it will call off the agitation only after fully knowing that the FA contents will not harm Manipur .

Ibobi further said that interlocutor to Naga Peace talk RN Ravi had told a Parliamentary panel headed by P Chidambaram that no deadline has been fixed for inking a deal to end the Naga problem.

No one can guarantee that the deal will not be announced as Christmas or New Year gift, he said.

The CLP leader also said that the Congress party is neither opposed to nor against the Framework Agreement.

The party is only demanding the disclosure of the contents of the agreement to the public .

The Congress is not trying to gain political mileage out of the issue.

The party is only making its stand clear that no provision to disintegrate or that can lead to disintegration of Manipur should be included in the FA, he said .

Memory will still be fresh in the minds of the people about the clear stand of the Congress party when it was in power at the Centre and State that it will not tolerate violation of ground rules or disintegration of the State, the former CM said .

The then Govt had restricted the entry of NSCN-IM general secretary Th Muivah into Manipur by breaking the ceasefire ground rules and before solving the Naga issue.

It was not opposing the entry of Muivah personally, he said .

The June 18, 2001 incident took place due to insertion of three words 'Without territorial limit' in the ceasefire agreement between GoI and NSCN-IM.

The Framework Agreement was also signed without consultation and discussion.

People's apprehension only rises as neighbouring States (Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Manipur) whose territories are under the NSCN-IM's demand area were not consulted before the signing of FA, he said.

Former Dy CM Gaikhangam asked how will people react to a pact when the owner of a homestead land is not permitted to touch the trees inside his land without the permission of a third party although the deal does not compromise with the boundary of the homestead land .

He said that the series of demonstrations are taken up as the continuous demand to reveal the contents of the FA has fallen on deaf ear for two years .

Many Congress leaders also spoke on the occasion.