IMPHAL, May 19: The Joint Committee on Inner Line Permit System (JCILPS) has called a 38-hour State-wide bandh with effect from 4 am of May 20 till 6 pm of May 21.
Speaking to media persons at their Sega Road Konjeng Hazari Leikai office today, JCILPS convenor Khomdram Ratan called upon all the people to stage different forms of agitation during the two days of bandh.
He decried that the State Government has been literally sleeping after the three Bills were passed by the Manipur State Assembly on August 31 last year.
He then appealed to all the people to relax the bandh for medical and emergency services, religious functions, essential services and media.
The JCILPS convenor further appealed to the masses to shout different slogans in unison like “No Government can exist in the State when ILPS is not enforced in Manipur”, “No political party can exist in the State if ILPS is not enforced”, “There should not be public administration if there is no ILPS in the State”, “No Government office can function if there is no ILPS”, “Translate into action all the points agreed between JCILPS and the Government”, “Set up population commission immediately”, “Set up land reforms commission immediately”, “Transform all the three Bills into Acts”, “Outsiders cannot contest elections nor cast votes in Manipur” etc.
If the Government of India, the State Government and the political parties choose to remain deaf to the demand of JCILPS and the masses, more intense modes of agitation would be launched shortly, Ratan said.
Pointing out that all the indigenous people of Manipur are on the verge of extinction, he asked the State Government to apprise all the issues of Manipur to the Centre without leaving any room for ambiguity.
It is not clear when the all parties delegation will leave for New Delhi. There is no reason the Prime Minister would refuse to give an audience to the delegation if they are genuinely committed to the issue, he said.
It appears that both the State Government and the all parties delegation have been resorting to delaying tactics.
Khomdram Ratan then asked the Government of India if they are determined to overwhelm the indigenous people with outsiders with an ulterior to pave way for total extinction of all the indigenous people.
He went on to question if Manipur’s merger with the Indian Union in 1949 was a step towards decimation of all the hill and plain people.
If this is the case, people of Manipur may be constrained to declare that they would like to snap all ties with the Government of India, he declared.
When the President of India visited Manipur on April 23, the State Government denied the JCILPS to meet the President and this smacked of an intention to keep the issue of ILPS at bay, Ratan decried.
Meanwhile, film personalities, singers, musicians and sound service providers staged a sit-in-protest at Wangkhei Keithel Ashangbi today demanding enforcement of ILPS or a similar mechanism in Manipur.
The protest demonstration was jointly organised by the All Manipur Matam Eshei Kanglup (AMMIK), Manipur State Shumang Leela Council and the All Manipur Sound Service Association.
Speaking to media persons by the sideline of the protest demonstration, AMMIK president Dr Hamom Naba decried the State Government’s lack of commitment in converting the three Bills passed by the Manipur State Assembly into Acts.
Manipur State Shumang Leela Council general secretary Sougrakpam Hemanta appealed to the Government to enact an effective mechanism in order to protect all the indigenous people of Manipur.
