SENAPATI, July 25 (NNN): The All Naga Students’ Association, Manipur (ANSAM) and the Kuki Students’ Organisation-General Headquarters (KSO-GHQ) have urged the Hill Areas Committee (HAC) to convene a meeting “at the earliest and reiterate the stand on the Autonomous District Council (ADC) Bill, 2021 as unanimously decided on August 16, 2021”. The two student bodies also urged the HAC that the same resolution be communicated to the Manipur State Government for tabling of the Manipur (Hill Areas) Autonomous District Councils Bill 2021 in the ensuing second session of the 12th Manipur Legislative Assembly and passing of the same into an act.
In a joint representation submitted to the chairman of the HAC on Sunday, the ANSAM and the KSO-GHQ termed the HAC as the vanguard of the tribals in the State of Manipur. The two student bodies said that the HAC should draw a resolute stand to secure the future of ‘tribal population’ in the state.
According to the joint representation, the ATSUM, the ANSAM and the KSO-GHQ had registered a strong resentment with a persistent people’s movement to the State Government for deliberately denying the introduction of the said bill in the State Assembly, “totally dishonoring and disregarding to the constitution and the members of HAC, which is a systematic repression to the tribals in the State”.
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According to the ANSAM and the KSO-GHQ, following the spontaneous agitation, an agreement was signed by the Manipur State Government with the ATSUM, the ANSAM and the KSO-GHQ on November 25, 2021 whereby the State Government agreed to table the HAC recommended ‘The Manipur (Hill Areas) Autonomous District Councils Bill 2021’ in the winter assembly session of 2021. “However, even after a lapse of 8 months, neither was the winter assembly session convened nor has the bill been introduced in the first session of the 12th Manipur Legislative Assembly, which was held in the month of March 2022,” they pointed out.
The representation of the Kuki and the Naga student organisations said, “In the light of the above facts, we humbly urge that a meeting of the Hill Areas Committee, Manipur Legislative Assembly be convened at the earliest and reiterate the stand on ADC Bill, 2021 as unanimously decided on August 16, 2021”..
