IMPHAL, September 5: Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh today said the three bills are still amendable and can be modified if it will hurt the interest of the people of the hills.
The bills were framed by humans not by God and can be modified or amended or corrected or even withdrawn if it is going to hurt the interest of the people of the hills or any other community in the State, the Chief Minister said during the 3rd State-level Teachers`™ Day at the DM College of Commerce ground.
Even the Constitution of India has been amended more than 50 to 60 times, he observed.
The government is ready to do all the needful, once the contentious issues are sorted out through dialogue, he said.
The State government has always tried to protect the interest of all communities residing in Manipur, he observed.
He said the valley districts are open to all communities including the tribal, Meitei, Muslims and all other communities, who have been living together for long.
We will continue to live together, he said.
The valley districts cover only 10 percent of the entire total geographical area of Manipur and the remaining 90 percent are the hills. The valley districts cover a small area; nonetheless, all communities have the right to stay in the valley districts. We should stay together, the Chief Minister observed.
He continued the government had passed the three bills following pressure from the public and thinking that it would be for the good of the people of Manipur.
However, it seems like it will break the emotional integrity of Manipur and if it does so, then we have done a grave mistake though we never had any intention of doing so, the Chief Minister observed.
People tend to act a little too emotionally and unwarranted ugly situations occur due to little misunderstanding, he continued.
Houses are torched, precious lives are lost, he said.
The houses and the properties can be rebuilt, but the young precious lives lost can never be brought back, the CM observed.
A young student lost his life during the ILPS agitation and then more young ones have died in the hills, he continued.
This is the most unfortunate thing to have happened for all of us, he said appealing to the people of both the hills and the valley to avoid such eventualities.
Instead let us sit down together and iron out the issue if there is anything that will hurt the interest of either the hills or the valley, he continued.
`It is my firm belief that if there is a problem then there will always be a solution it`™s only a matter of time` he said.
People who are residing in Churachandpur, Tamenglong, Chandel, Ukhrul, Senapati, Imphal East and West, Thoubal, Bisempur are all Manipuris. We are going to live and die here so if there is anything which the government has failed to notice we can always bring a solution by sitting together, he continued.
The Chief Minister also lauded the teachers for their contributions in the society for a better future.
He said the teachers play an important part in developing human resource which is an important part of the society.
In his speech the Chief Minister also said that women empowerment is the need of the hour as women play a very important role in the Manipur society.
Citing an example, he said generally in any form of agitation in Manipur, children leads followed by womenfolk as if acting as shields for the men against police action.
However, in many cases the agitators fail to understand the limitations of the State government in fulfilling their demands and sometimes their demands are illogical and unreasonable.
And in such instances when the demands are unreasonable or illogical and beyond the reach of the State government, we have no choice but to simply stand and wait with a confused mind which is a very shameful thing, he said.
So bridging the gap of literacy rate between male and female population is what we the people of Manipur should be focusing on, he observed.
He further appealed to the teachers to find a way to make up for the loss of two months.