Clear blockade at Kpi demand raised
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, September 12 2023:
A representation has been submitted to the State Government to declare the blockade imposed on National Highway-2 as illegal and unconstitutional and arrest office bearers of Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU) .
The representation, submitted by the Uripok Apunba Lup to the Chief Secretary, Commissioner Home and Director General of Police, said CoTU's economic blockade imposed on the National Highway-2 (Imphal-Dimapur road) is against the rulings of the Apex Court and High Court, and has caused hardship to the people of Manipur.
Citing several cases and rulings, the Uripok Apunba Lup said the Supreme Court, in the 2003 TK Rangarajan versus Government of Tamil Nadu case, held that calling strike cannot be resorted to as a fundamental right by any person.
In the case of Communist Party of India (M) versus Bharat Kumar (1998), the SC held that there cannot be doubt that the fundamental rights of the people as a whole cannot be subservient to the claim of fundamental rights of an individual or only a section of the people.
"It is on the basis of this direction it was rightly concluded that there cannot be any right to call or enforce a bandh which interferes with the exercise of the fundamental freedom of other citizens in addition to causing National loss in many ways," said the Uripok Apunba Lup.
When there are all these settled positions of law, the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU), which is an organisation based at Kangpokpi district, has imposed economic blockade on the National Highway-2 by blocking all vehicles/trucks carrying essential items and petroleum products from entering Imphal from outside Manipur.
CoTU has been imposing the blockade since May 3 and recently, it had released a press note stating that the blockade will be intensified, said Uripok Apunba Lup.
The National Highway-2 is the life line of the people of Manipur.
Because of the imposition of the economic blockade, all the people living in the State of Manipur are suffering from shortage of essential items including medicine and life saving drugs, it said, urging the authorities to declare CoTU's blockade illegal and unconstitutional in view of the many rulings/decisions of the Apex Court and the High Courts."It is quite unfortunate that till date the State Government has not taken up any concrete steps to arrest the culprits who have imposed the economic blockade on NH-2 in complete violation of the settled position of law of this land.
The CoTU has taken law into their hands...," it said, urging the State authorities concerned to take appropriate legal actions against CoTU.
If the authorities fail to take necessary steps to declare the economic blockade on NH-2 as illegal and unconstitutional and arrest the office bearers of CoTU by registering criminal cases under relevant law, Uripok Apunba Lup will be compelled to approach the Court to uphold the law and address the grievances of the people of Manipur belonging to all communities, it said.