Imphal, August 11: For the third consecutive day today, the �scheduled� Cabinet meeting failed to take off even as the demand to scrap the Disturbed Area Act from Manipur shows no sign of abating.

Even as Chief Minister O Ibobi is dithering over convening the Cabinet meeting, Deputy Secretary of the Union Home Ministry, RK Singh arrived at Imphal today evening to take stock of the situation here.

Sources said RK Singh met the Chief Minister and discussed the prevailing situation minutely.

While the failure to convene the Cabinet meeting continues to confound, confuse and enrage the people, Industries Minister Th Debendra and Rajya Sabha MP Rishang Keishing left for New Delhi today afternoon on being summoned by Union Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

The departure of Debendra and Rishang for New Delhi is significant in the backdrop of the new political development in the last few days and could signify major changes within the SPF Government.

Sources said that the Cabinet meeting could not be held today as no official circular for convening the same was issued.

This was despite the finalisation of the Cabinet memo for the scheduled meeting.

According to reports received from a reliable source, the Cabinet meeting could not be convened following strict instructions from the Centre not hold any Cabinet meeting which will endorse the lifting of the Disturbed Area Act from the State.

The instructions were reportedly conveyed to the Chief Secretary.

The strong instructions from the Centre forced the Chief Minister to put on hold the Cabinet meeting, said sources adding that a definite Cabinet decision may be taken before August 15 after receiving inputs from Debendra and the visiting Deputy Secretary of Home Affairs, RK Singh.

The CPI, the major partner of the SPF Government had already fixed August 12 as the deadline for the Chief Minister to take a decision to lift the said Act and had threatened that they would be constrained to withdraw from the coalition if the demand is not met then.

The MSCP had also given a 48 hour deadline to withdraw the same yesterday.

The SPF Legislature wing and the Steering Committee had earlier endorsed the lifting of the Disturbed Area Act and entrusted the Cabinet to implement the same.

Chief Minister O Ibobi and Th Debendra were supposed to leave for New Delhi yesterday on the summon of AICC chief Sonia Gandhi and Pranab Mukherjee.

However Ministers and MLAs of the SPF had stopped them from proceeding towards Delhi until and unless the Cabinet takes a definite decision over the issue.

The CM could not proceed to Delhi today, as none of the Ministers were ready to shoulder the responsibilities as CM- in-charge during this volatile situation, said sources.

Senior officers, including the Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary and others are understood to have advised the Chief Minister to heed the summon and head for Delhi as non-compliance may have a negative impact on the Centre-State relations.

Congress leaders have taken the summon of Th Debendra to Delhi by the Centre seriously and many have hinted that it could have some major impact on the SPF Government.

The Centre is expected to seek a clear cut report of the situation here from Debendra as well as to study the options available that may solve the current uproar.

It is also very likely that a change of CM may be in the offing, said a well placed source.

It is significant to note that administration and governance had come to a standstill due to the deteriorating law and order situation.

Majority of Government Departments have been paralysed for the last many days.

That the Chief Minister has not been able to allocate the portfolios not been able to allocate the portfolios of the Ministers even after the down sizing was effected on July 5 has also not gone down well with the high command, said sources.

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