IMPHAL, Aug 8 : The JCILPS has set August 13 deadline for the Government to organise consultation meetings with all stake holders on the new Bill which is being drafted in place of the Protection of Manipur Peoples (PMP) Bill 2015.
Speaking to mediapersons at their Sega Road, Konjeng Hazari Leikai office this afternoon, JCILPS convenor in-charge BK Moirangcha said that intense forms of mass agitation would be launched if the Government fails to organise due consultation programmes by August 13.
The Government has been claiming before media that the process of drafting the new Bill is on the verge of completion, and legal and Constitutional experts have been consulted.
However, it is not clear when the Government is planning to seek public opinions and comments. It remains a big question how much time the Government is prepared to spare for the JCILPS, JAC Against the Anti-Tribal Bills, Churachandpur and other stake holders to discuss the Bill, BK Moirangcha said.
Questioning when the Bill will be made public, he enquired if the Bill would be placed in the public domain for a very brief period just for name’s sake before it is tabled in the State Assembly.
The idea to upload the Bill on social media is not a very good one as it may elicit contradictory opinions which may again land the Bill in deep controversies.
Reacting to a news report which claimed that the electoral roll of 1972 is missing, BK Moirangcha asserted both the Government of India and the Government of Manipur owe an apology to the people of Manipur in case the news report is true.
The electoral roll of 1972 and for that matter electoral rolls of any year cannot be lost and such deceit or laxity is unacceptable. The State Government must be held accountable.
According to an investigation conducted by JCILPS, the electoral roll of 1972 was taken by the Home Department from the Election Department during 1980-81 at the height of the anti-foreigners movement spearheaded by AMSU and AMSCOC and the copies of the electoral roll were never given back to the Election Department, BK Moirangcha said.
Meanwhile, altogether 588 non-local labourers were detected and handed over to police while checking inter-State vehicles along Imphal-Dimapur highway and Imphal-Jiribam highway.
People have been asking how police dealt with the non-local labourers handed over to them by JCILPS and a number of civil organisations. Manipur police should come out with a convincing answer to the people’s query.
The non-local labourers were handed over to police as JCILPS has no intention to take the law into its hands.
A joint meeting of JCIPS, bus owners, Winger owners, drivers’ union and representatives of ticket counters was held on July 28 and six different resolutions were adopted.
It was agreed that if any passenger vehicle is found transporting non-local people without valid identification documents, the vehicle should take back the non-local people up to the place where they boarded it on the same day.
If the non-local people could not be taken back on the particular day, they should be taken back the next day. All the expenditures for lodging and foods incurred by non-local people thus stranded should be borne by the transport agency/firm concerned.
It was also agreed to penalise drivers if they bring in non-local people who do not possess valid identification documents secretly.
To resolve all misunderstandings or communication gaps between JCILPS and transport agencies by July 31 last was another resolution of the joint meeting.
However, some transport agencies have been defying all these points of agreement. As such, JCILPS would be mounting a strict vigil over them.
