JAC rubbishes State Government's claim
Source: The Sangai Express

Lamka, September 22 2015: The convenor of the Churachandpur JAC has today rubbished the claims of the State Government and some drafting committee members of the contentious Bills that the 3 Bills passed by the Government will not compromise with the tribal land and their contention that the present crisis as an internal one, saying their sinister ploys and designs can now be unmasked by the tribals.

Claiming that the minority tribal in Manipur are constantly subjugated, deprived and suppressed in all walks of life by the majority controlled Manipur Government, he said that the decades of deprivation and suppression meted out to the tribals has sharply alienated the hill and the spontaneous reaction witnessed when the three anti-tribal Bills were passed on August 31 is just a culmination of that deep divide.

It is yet again another ploy to grab the land of the tribals, he said while addressing the public at Lamka Public ground.

The back ward tribal areas are administered under article 371C, a special provision for the hill areas and the Autonomous District Manipur Hill Areas Council Act of 1971, however meagre power enshrined in these Acts and provisions are time and again curtailed to the minimum and not implemented in letter and spirit due to the suppressive policy of the Government of Manipur.

The State Government's forces did not fire a single live bullet during the two-month long ILP agitation but used live bullets from the very first day of the tribal protest claiming nine lives, he said and called on the Centre to work out a separate political administration for the tribals who are now educated and are capable of determining their destiny and future.

'We can no longer stay with them in the face of suppression and deprivation,' he declared amidst thunderous applause in an apparent reference to the Manipur Government.

The tribals too deserve to live as peaceful, proud and dignified citizens of India with a definite future, he added.

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