IMPHAL, June 25: In the wake of widespread public demand for a suitable legislation for the protection of indigenous people of Manipur, which had been sidestepped by the Government of Manipur by introducing an ineffective and innocuous bill named `The Manipur Regulation of Visitors, Tenants and Migrant Workers Bill 2015`™, the Joint Committee on Inner Line Permit System (JCILPS) has submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh today.
In the memorandum, the JCILPS, a conglomerate of civil society organizations, which is spearheading the collective demand for implementation of Inner Line Permit System to monitor the rampant influx of outsiders into the state, expressed deep concern on the state of social, economic and cultural life of the people in view of the degradation caused by the influx of outsiders and non-indigenous communities, undermining the identity and dignity of the people of Manipur.
Rejecting the `The Manipur Regulation of Visitors, Tenants and Migrant Workers Bill 2015`™, the committee in the memorandum demanded the government to withdraw the bill during the ensuing Assembly session to be started from June 26.
The government should introduce a fresh bill to fulfil the aspirations of the indigenous people of Manipur which will restrict and regulate the influx of outsiders and internal migrants whose demographic influence has been threatening the socio-economic, cultural and political practices of the people of the state, it further demanded.
The JCILPS in its memorandum also reiterated the inclusion of certain points which in the new legislation should fulfil the peoples`™ aspirations.
The points include a strong permit or pass for migrants as regards their purpose, whereabouts or validity of their presence for a specific period; a cut off base year of 1951 for people participating and creating of demographic influx into the State.
Empowerment of a full-fledged labour department which has to outreach an effective jurisdiction in all the districts of Manipur to strictly implement matters of registration and regulation of internal migrant labours and inclusion of detection and deportation of illegal migrants and non-indigenous people are some of the points demanded by the committee to be included in the proposed legislation and necessary taken thereof.