Senapati, October 04 2017: Tripartite talks on district creation issue involving United Naga Council (UNC), the Government of Manipur and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will be held on October 6 (Friday).
According to UNC sources, the talks will begin from 1 pm on the day at Senapati district headquarters .
Late this evening, formal invitation letters addressed to the Government of Manipur and UNC came from the Ministry of Home Affairs for talks.
It can be mentioned here that the MHA has been chairing the talks right from the first tripartite talks held on March 19 .
UNC’s 48-hour deadline to the State Government and the MHA to make their “clear-cut” positions on the district creation issue/tripartite talks had lapsed on October 1 (Sunday) but the Naga body did not go ahead with its “own course of action” as decided following communication from the Government.
UNC was expecting the invitation for talks by October 3 (as October 2 being Gandhi Jayanti/Holiday) but non-response from the Government till this afternoon had almost prompted UNC to call for an emergency meeting to decide its “own course of action”, according to sources .
“Whatever may be the case a formal invitation has come late this evening from the Ministry of Home Affairs for talks”, said UNC president Gaidon Kamei while informing Newmai News Network about the development .
“We are serious about the talks.
We believe in resolving problems through dialogues,” Gaidon Kamei said, adding, “We are optimistic that the Government of Manipur and the Central Government will understand our position and sentiment” .
The last time the dialogue on the district creation issue was held on August 11 at the “political level” at Senapati district headquarters with the participation of three Cabinet Ministers which included Agriculture and Veterinary Minister V Hangkhanlian, Tribal Affairs & Hills Minister N Kayisii and Education and Labour and Employment Minister Th Radheshyam.
Apart from the three Cabinet Ministers, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Dr J Suresh Babu and Commissioner (Works & IPR) K Radhakumar Singh also participated in the talks .
A large number of UNC members participated in the August 11 talks chaired by Satyendra Garg, the Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India .
In the August 11 talks, the three parties had agreed to hold the “next round of talks” in the month of September.
However, non-adherence to the agreement had prompted UNC to serve a 48-hour deadline on September 29 to the State Government and the MHA to make their respective “clear-cut” positions on the 7 new district creation issue/tripartite talks.
Source: The Sangai Express
