IMPHAL, October 18: The State government has sent an official letter to both the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister to take action against the October 15 attack on State students in Bangalore, Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh said replying to a query from media persons today.
He said repeated occurrence of such ugly incidents could alienate the people of the region from the mainland,
The Chief Minister was speaking to media persons after the inaugural function of the two-day 15th Annual Conference of the Cardiological Society of India `“ NE Chapter at the Conference Hall of Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences, Imphal.
If such attacks on people from the region continue, it can affect the national integrity, the Chief Minister observed.
He said the State government has highlighted in its official letter that this is not the first instance when people of the region has been attacked.
The centre has been urged to take necessary actions to stop all such incidents, he said.
The Chief Minister also disclosed that he has spoken to the Minister of State Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju on the issue.
He further sad that if necessary, political parties, MPs and Chief Ministers of the NE States will meet with the Centre on the issue.
At the same time, deputy Chief Minister, Gaikhangam while reacting strongly against the spate of attacks on North-easterners in the past few days, drew the attention of the authority concerned to conduct swift enquiries to prevent any misunderstanding.
Speaking to a group of media persons at his official chamber, Old Secretariat today, Gaikhangam who is also the State Home minister, opined that the unfortunate incidents might not have been committed intentionally but since the victims have all been from the North East, the incidents could be construed as racial discrimination against the people of the region.
Even though the concerned States have taken initiatives to book and punish the accused, Gaikhangam appealed to the authority to conduct the inquiry swiftly.
`India is a diverse nation with multi ethnic society, so every one must respect each other`™s culture and language with maximum tolerance. But such inhuman incidents might strain the unity fabric of the country,` Gaikhangam held.
At the same time, the Home minister clarified that reports of the death of an IRB personnel of the State deployed for election duty outside the State is a rumour and not true.
IRB personnel from the State who were returning from Maharashtra after election duty were unfortunately travelling in the train which caught fire near Allahabad today, he said.
However, among the personnel of five IRB companies from the State only one personnel received minor injury while the others escaped unscathed, he said.
The centre had asked for 15 companies of IRB for election duty, but the State could provide only five companies, he said.
They will be reaching home tomorrow, he said.