NEW DELHI, Feb 24 (VIS COMM): Centre is all set to constitute a High Level Committee (HLC) in the next ten days armed with the mandate to study in details the demand for an “alternative arrangement” for the Nagas in Manipur and recommend practical measures to settle the issue.
The demand was made by the United Naga Council (UNC) of Manipur which has been demanding “executive, financial and judicial power” for the Nagas within Manipur.
UNC has been claiming that it was “impossible to live and grow together with the communal government of Manipur.”
In an exclusive interview with Vision Communications, MHA Joint Secretary Shambhu Singh said, “forming a committee is not always very easy. One has to take UNC’s requirements into consideration. Also we have so many other tribal groups in Manipur. If we try to address issues pertaining to only one group, other groups will be bound to complain. We are in the process of consultation as to in what form this committee should be, so that one group’s solution does not become a problem for another group. It is a whole gamut of issues which is to be looked into.”
On the possible members of the proposed committee, Singh said that mainly economists, sociologists, people from some other disciplines will be appointed as committee members to fulfill the important assignment. This committee would have some kind of political representation from Manipur. MHA would also include its representative in the proposed committee, Shambhu Singh added.
Singh confirmed that during his Imphal visit last week, he had discussed in details the constitution of the proposed committee with the chief minister Ibobi Singh and others. After consultations with some other people, “we will announce the committee in the next ten days time,” he disclosed.
Meanwhile, a four-member delegation of the UNC headed by its president L Adani and general secretary Gaidon Kamei met Shambhu Singh on February 20 in his chamber in the North Block and discussed the constitution of proposed committee.
Later talking to Vision Communications, Adani expressed his satisfaction over the Centre’s initiative on the proposed formation of a high level committee to “translate our demand for an Alternative Arrangements for the Nagas within Manipur into a political reality.”