IMPHAL, February 10: The JAC against the Anti-tribal Bills has reiterated that it will stand firm on its charter of demands and will not compromise on its stand until the matter with the bills is resolved as desired by the public.
A statement of the JAC said that it deeply regrets the need to time and again educate the tribal ministers and MLAs on the anti-tribal nature of the three bills The Protection of Manipur Peoples Bill, 2015; the Manipur Land Revenue and Land Reforms (Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2015 and the Manipur Shops and Establishments (Second Amendment) Bill, 2015 passed by the State Legislative Assembly on August 31, 2015.
It claimed the three bills were passed without any opposition from the 20-odd tribal MLAs in spite of continued warnings by various tribal bodies including the All Tribal Students’ Union, Manipur of the sinister designs and dreadful implications of the bills on the rights and privileges of the tribal people of Manipur.
The tribal MLAs conveniently ignored the cries of their tribal brethren who have elected them in the first place and chose to give their approvals for the passing of the three anti-tribal bills while continuing to accuse the tribal people of “creating issues out of nothing.”
It said the JAC would like to reiterate again and again that the trhee bills do really impinge upon the rights and interests of the tribal people of the State and had submitted a six-page document pinpointing the same in detail to the Chief Minister on January 11 and a four-page charter of demands has also been submitted to the government of Manipur on November 9, 2015.
With no response from the State government regarding the demands, the same document was re-submitted on December 29, 2015 for which any sort of positive response is still awaited, it said.
The JAC was formed on September 2, 2015 to represent all tribal communities of Manipur and spearhead all issues relating to the three anti-tribal bills, it said adding that the JAC which is comprised of members from various tribal communities has tirelessly been championing tribal land, rihts and identity.
Just as the 60 MLAs represent the 2.72 million people of Manipur, the JAC represents all tribal of Manipur, it claimed.
However, the difference lies in the fact that while certain representatives dictate their terms on the people they are supposed to represent, the JAC spearheads the peoples’ movement in constant consultation with the public.