Imphal, July 15: The Lok Sabha Speaker GMC Balyogi assured a delegation of State leaders that he would personally meet the Prime Minister to expeditiously take up the burning issue arising out of the ceasefire extension to Manipur.

The Speaker also assured the delegation that he would extend all possible help whenever the issue comes up for discussions on the floor of the House.

The assurances were given when a delegation of four legislators representing the State MPs and MLAs Forum meet him this morning at his residence.

The delegation drew his attention to a news report which said that �the Nagaland PCC and its Government stood by the 16 Point Agreement by which the State was formed in 1963, which include a proposal (Clause 13) that the contiguous Naga areas would be integrated with Nagaland if the people so desire�.

The Manipur leaders pointed out to the Lok Sabha Speaker that the last sentence of the alleged contents of Clause 13 of the 16-point agreement referred to in the news report is not found in the Agreement in question arrived at between the Government of India and Naga People�s Convention in July 1960.The State delegation produced the original text before the Speaker which read, �The delegation wished the following to be placed on the record: The Naga leaders expressed the wish for the contiguous areas to join the new State.

It was pointed out to them on behalf of the Government of India that Articles 3 and 4 of the Constitution provided for increasing the area of any State, but that it was not possible for the Government of India to make any commitment in this regard at this stage.� The Speaker was urged to go by the original text of the Agreement and not to be misled by such �misleading� report.

The MLAs also made it clear that the mere assurance of the Prime Minister to review the ceasefire agreement will not pacify the people and only complete withdrawal of the ceasefire extension will ensure normalcy in the state.

When the Speaker queried why the State Assembly Secretariat was reduced to ashes, the MLAs informed him that the people had targeted it as they felt that the resolutions passed by the Assembly four times not to allow the ceasefire to be extended to the State was not respected by the Centre and carried no weight with the Central leaders.

The delegation comprising of Speaker Dr.S Dhananjoy, Dr.

Comment