Manipur tribal organisations oppose convening of assembly session on Aug 29

The Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU) and the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) have denounced the convening of the Manipur Assembly session on August 29 saying the present situation is not conducive for Kuki-Zo MLAs to attend.

In a joint statement on Sunday, both the organisations said considering the complete breakdown of law and order and the failure of the state government in protecting the lives of the common people and officials, convening the session "is devoid of logic and rationality."

The Business Advisory Committee (BAC) of Manipur Legislative Assembly on Saturday had decided to hold a one-day session on Tuesday.

"Since the outbreak of the current ethnic violence in May, Imphal valley has witnessed the lynching of more than a hundred innocent people and destruction of thousands of houses. Even the lives and properties of ministers and MLAs were not spared," the joint statement said.

"If the state government is really concerned about bringing back normalcy, it should own moral responsibility and resign for good. Forcing the assembly session in spite of knowing well that the representatives of a sizeable population of the state will not be able to attend is not only immoral but also exposes the ulterior motive of the dominant community," the statement said.

On Saturday, former Manipur chief minister and Congress leader Okram Ibobi Singh had said the session is an eyewash and not in public interest.

"I attended the BAC meeting and learnt that the session will be just for a day. Since it is a constitutional obligation to hold a session before September 2, Tuesday's session has been called."

"The agenda is going to be obituary references," Okram said, adding, "In my experience, on a day when obituary references are taken up, no other business is discussed."

"As a member of the committee, I suggested that the session be held at least for five days to discuss the unprecedented situation in the state. The opposition has just four or five members. We are not here to criticise the government, but discuss issues of public interest," Okram added.