Imphal, August 17: Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil today assured a delegate of North East Peoples' Organisation and Lok Sabha MP Dr Th Meinya that the Centre will not take any decision without consulting the State Government.

Speaking to The Sangai Express a well placed source from Delhi said that the assurance was given when the NEPO team and the MP called on the Home Minister at 3.30 pm at his office to present the case of Manipur and highlight the present conditions here.

The Union Home Minister assured that the Centre will do all it can to check the extortion racket of the NSCN(IM) in Nagaland, but added that for Manipur, the task of reining them in should rest with the State Government.

The NEPO team and Dr Meinya welcomed the peace talk underway between the Centre and different armed groups of the North East but highlighted that Manipur has become a victim of the peace talk between the NSCN (IM) and New Delhi, said the source.

The Home Minister was also informed that the peace talk, with the NSCN (IM) has given rise to communal tension in Manipur with apprehension everywhere.

The team also urged Patil to do something to dispel the over riding tension.

If the economic blockade is to be re-imposed then undesirable developments may arise, the team informed the Home Minister and urged him to do the needful to avert such a situation.

The open extortion indulged in by the NSCN (IM) taking advantage of the peace pact was also highlighted to the Home Minister.

The four hill districts demanded by the NSCN'(IM) for Naga unification are not inhabited only by the Naga people but are also the homes of the Kukis and other communities, the Home Minister was told in clear cut terms, said the source further.

The ethnic cleansing perpetrated by the NSCN(IM) in 1991-93 in which 992 Kukis were killed was also laid bare before the Home Minister.

The NEPO team also demanded adequate compensations for the victims of the ethnic cleansing.

On the demand to upgrade Sadar Hills to the status of a district, the team highlighted the 30 years long demand of the people of Sadar Hills and drew the attention of the Home Minister to the genuine aspirations of the people.

Declaring June 18 as a State holiday and State Integrity Day was the correct decision; the team informed the Union Home Minister and later submitted a memorandum as well.

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