Members skip House committee meeting
O Joy accuses assembly of shielding Kuki MLAs
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, December 21 2023: In shocking development, all the six members, except for chairman MLA Nishikant Sapam, of the Privilege and Ethics Committee of the Manipur Legislative Assembly failed to turn up for a meeting of the committee on Thursday.

The meeting was convened to discuss a complaint filed by ex-MLA Okram Joy against the 10 Kuki MLAs for their anti-state conducts.

Furious over the absence of all the six members at the meeting and terming it as a humiliation, Okram Joy, while addressing a press meet at his Kakwa residence, charged the state assembly of protecting the 10 Kuki MLAs despite their statements and conducts challenging the integrity of Manipur and violating the ethics of the state legislative assembly.

The veteran politician said that in parliamentary system, the House should discuss any matter of breach of privilege and contempt of house as soon as possible.

The last assembly session did not discuss the matter even though the 10 MLAs including two ministers made attempts to disintegrate the state.

Even though he filed a petition to discuss the matter, it was delayed for months until the recent notification of convening the meeting of the privilege and ethics committee.

Shockingly, none of the members of the committee, except for the chairman turned up for the meeting, he said while questioning the motives of the six members of the committee.

He challenged the existence of the state assembly if it cannot discuss the matter and also questioned the silence of the speaker.

He also alleged that the government is undermining all democratic mechanisms in the parliamentary system.

There is an ongoing war for protecting the state and the government is working with the MLAs, who want to disintegrate the state.

It would not be wrong to assert that the state assembly, the speaker and the privilege & ethics committee are protecting the 10 Kuki MLAs, who want to destroy the state, he said.

Joy also criticised the government of saying one thing to the people and doing another while lashing out for their dependence on Delhi.

The six members of the committee, who did not turn up for the meeting are Sagolband MLA RK Imo, Lilong MLA Abdul Nasir, Khangabok MLA Okram Surjakumar, Kumbi MLA Sana -sam Premchandra and Churachandpur MLA LM Khaute.

O Joy further told media persons that he filed a privilege motion against the director of All India Radio, Imphal over unrelated remarks during a programme on 'Roles and power of the Speaker of a Legislative Assembly' aired in an episode of 'Matamgee Wapham' .

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