Manipur gets ILPS promise as shield from CAB, CM hails Modi, Shah, Singh
Source: The Sangai Express / Agencies

Imphal, December 09 2019: Chief Minister N Biren has expressed profound gratification on Union Home Minister Amit Shah's announcement that Inner Line Permit System (ILPS) would be extended to Manipur and the State would be protected from CAB.

Speaking to media persons at his office this evening, N Biren, on behalf of the State Government and the people of Manipur, conveyed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and senior leaders of BJP and the Central Government for the unexpected announcement that ILPS would be extended to Manipur.

Manipur gets ILPS promise as shield from CAB, CM hails Modi, Shah, Singh

The Chief Minister gave credit for the unexpected but highly desired development to the people of Manipur, CSOs, Meira Paibis, the State Government as well as BJP, LJP, NPP and NPF which are partners of the coalition Government.

He also acknowledged the role of media.

The Inner Line Permit System or a similar mechanism to regulate the influx of non-locals into the State of Manipur has been a long standing demand of the people, spearheaded by the Joint Committee on Inner Line Permit System (JCILPS) .

Bowing to immense public pressure, the then Congress Government passed three Bills in the Assembly on August 31, 2015, but this was strongly opposed leading to the death of nine people in the protest against the Bills at Churachandpur.

Earlier on July 8, 2015 a young student Sapam Robinhood was killed in police action during one of the many protest rallies staged in Imphal demanding a mechanism to regulate the influx of non-locals into Manipur.

The pressure on the Government to introduce a legislation to check the incursion of non-locals continued with the coming of the BJP led Government in Manipur after the Assembly election of 2017 .

The Manipur People Bill was then passed on July 23, 2018 but it is awaiting a Presidential assent.

The Chief Minister paid tributes to late Sapam Robinhood who sacrificed his life for implementation of ILPS in Manipur as well as all those people who sustained injuries in the course of sustained agitation.

He said that the pro-ILPS movement was kept alive by the supreme sacrifice of Sapam Robinhood.

Citing today's highly favourable development, the Chief Minister appealed to all the people of Manipur to shed their scepticism with regard to New Delhi.

The Narendra Modi Government is a Government which keeps its words and is deeply concerned for the welfare of Manipur and all other North Eastern States, Biren claimed.

Today's historic announcement has demonstrated that the BJP Government, as far as possible, would not do anything which would harm the interest of Manipur, he said.

He announced holiday for all Government offices and educational institutions tomorrow and added that a mega public meeting would be held to convey gratitude to the Central Government.

"As informed by Amit Shah over telephone this morning that ILPS would be extended to Manipur, I conveyed the same information to the public through media but some CSOs projected me like a liar.

This was a little disheartening", Biren said.

CSOs should not entertain the idea of superseding or overruling the popular Government at all times, he added.

Earlier in the day, Union Home Minister Amit Shah told the Lok Sabha that Manipur would be included in the Inner Line Permit System, thereby "exempting" it from provisions of the Citizenship Amendment Bill, ANI reported.

The permit is a document that outsiders need before travelling to places defined as "protected areas" in some States in the North East.

CAB will not be applicable to regions in the North East protected by the Inner Line Permit and Sixth Schedule provisions.

This also includes the whole of Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, most of Nagaland, Meghalaya and Tripura, and certain pockets of Assam.

Hours before the announcement, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for the imminent announcement.

In a tweet, he claimed that the people in the State were out on the streets to thank the two leaders.

"Our constant apprehension that influx of outsiders will marginalise the indigenous communities [due to Citizenship Amendment Bill] has now been put to rest," PTI quoted him as saying.

Meanwhile, the Manipur Government declared a holiday on Tuesday for all educational institutions and Government offices in celebration of Shah's announcement.

Shah introduced the Citizenship Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha amid the Opposition's vociferous protests.

The Bill proposes amendments to a 1955 law to provide citizenship to persecuted Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis and Christians from the Muslim-majority Nations of Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

If passed, it will grant citizenship to persecuted people from these communities, provided they have resided in India for six years.

The cut-off date is December 31, 2014 .

The State Government, meanwhile, issued a circular directing all subordinate officers to celebrate the "exemption" granted to the State.

The BJP-led Government directed officers to put up photographs of Modi and Shah while celebrating.