IMPHAL February 23: The Schedule Tribe Demand Committee, Manipur has today called for discussion on the demand for inclusion of the Meetei/Meitei in the ST List of India during the upcoming 7th session of the 10th Manipur Legislative Assembly.
The committee today called a press conference at the Manipur Press Club raising the issue.
Today’s conference was addressed by the committee’s working president M Noudalenkhomba; president Y Mohendro; vice president B Angousana and general secretary L Lokendrajit.
The main objective behind the formation of the committee is to save the indigenous people of the state and their land by staying within the Indian Constitution in a non-violent way, asserted Mohendro.
The committee has already submitted their demand to the state Governor, while Gurbachan Jagat was in office on November 20, 2013, following which the latter had recommended the demand to the centre, acknowledging it to be serious and sensitive issue for the state, he continued.
Elaborating further on the issue, he said that after the Prime Minister’s Office referred the issue to the Union Home Ministry, the latter referred it to the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs in May last year. The Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs during April the same year instructed the state government for recommendations on the demand, he continued.
However, the state government has failed to act accordingly and send its recommendation report to the Centre, he claimed.
The committee urged the State Assembly to take up the issue for discussion during its sitting which will be commenced from February 24, he said before continuing that the committee will launch a series of democratic agitations to safeguard the indigenous people and their land.