IMPHAL, May 30: Providing a relief to the present tense situation mainly in the valley over the long standing demand made by Joint Committee on Inner Line Permit System (JCILPS) for conversion of the three bills passed in the State Assembly, the much-talked trip of all political parties delegation to New Delhi to press Central leaders to convert the bills into acts has been fixed on June 3.
The decision was arrived at an emergency Cabinet meeting convened today evening at 5 pm at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat.
Elaborating about the meeting which was chaired by CM O Ibobi Singh, Rural Development & Panchayati Raj Minister M Okendro who is also the government’s spokesperson said that the meeting minutely discussed the ongoing different forms of agitation demanding conversion of the three bills passed in the Assembly into acts and its subsequent consequences.
He further said that the delegation will seek assent of the President of the country to convert the bills into acts to ensure protection of the indigenous people and also apprise of the volatile situation arising out of the ongoing agitations.
The all political parties’ delegation will be led by the Chief Minister, the minister maintained.
Meanwhile, according to reliable sources, the trip to the national capital will be done in phase wise manner. The first team of the delegation will leave Imphal on June 1 while the second team will leave on June 2.
The third and last team of the delegation which consist Chief Minister O Ibobi and Deputy CM Gaikhangam will head for the national capital on June 3.
It said the teams will meet Central leaders including President of the country, Prime Minister and Home Minister during which they will pressurize to convert the bills into acts as soon as possible.
The development over the Delhi trip came amidst the ongoing different forms of agitation including sit-in-protest demonstration and road block in different areas pressing the collective demand.
The all political parties delegation to be headed by the CM and Dy CM includes L Ibomcha (NCP), Dr M Nara (CPI), Ksh Shanta (CPM), Th Manihar (AAP), M Tombi (JD-U), O Joy (BJP) and TN Haokip (Congress) who is also the president of Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC), the sources added.
It may be mentioned that all political parties in its meeting had resolved to send a delegation of the parties to New Delhi to exert pressure on the Central leaders to convert the three bills passed in the State Assembly on August 31, 2015 into acts to safeguard the indigenous people from the incessant influx of outsiders into the State.
Following the JCILPS-led agitations, Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh convened a meeting of all political parties at the former conference hall on May 9 wherein it unanimously agreed to meet the Central leaders to do the needful.
Prior to the trip, a drafting panel was also formed to draft memorandums to be submitted by the delegation of the political parties to the Central leaders.
The first meeting of the drafting panel was held on May 11. The memorandums to be submitted to the Central leaders had already been handed over to the CM.
The three bills which the JCILPS has been demanding to convert it into acts are The Protection of Manipur People Bill, 2015; The Manipur Land Revenue & Land Reforms (Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2015 and The Manipur Shops & Establishments (Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2015.