Naga solution should not impinge upon Manipur: UCM

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Sep 18: The United Committee Manipur (UCM) has reiterated that any solution worked out between Government of India and NSCN-IM should not impinge on Manipur in any manner.
Speaking to media persons after offering tributes (Langbal Heitha Leitha) to the martyrs of June 2001 mass uprising at Kekrupat here today, UCM president Sunil Karam said that the Government of India has not stopped differentiating the people of Manipur.
The political dialogue going on between New Delhi and NSCN-IM has been a cause of  anxiety ad apprehension to all the North Eastern States, particularly Manipur. The 23 years old political dialogue has been a constant threat to the integrity of Manipur, Sunil said.
Several deadlines have been set to seal a final agreement between New Delhi and NSCN-IM. The two parties may seal an official agreement any time and the people of Manipur have no objection but the Government of India must consult the people of Manipur if the solution impinges upon the State in any manner, he asserted.  
A delegation of the COCOMI called on the Union Home Minister on April 25, 2019 and made it clear that any solution which affects Manipur in any manner would not be tolerated, Sunil said.
He then appealed to the Government of India to work out an amicable and positive solution which would be acceptable to all stakeholders.
Any kind of autonomy or administrative division based on ethnicity would not be tolerated and this is the non-negotiable collective stand of the people of Manipur, asserted the UCM president.
He appealed to all the people of the State to be wary and watchful of the solution being worked out between NSCN-IM and New Delhi.
“If the Government of India commits the blunder of disregarding the collective will of the people, we would be left with no other option but take steps to determine our own future”, he warned.
Highlighting the growing infection rate and the death toll of COVID-19 in the State, the UCM president appealed to the authority concerned to put off the by-election for sometime.
The ECI’s preparation for the by-election evokes a serious question whether filling up vacant Assembly seats is more urgent than saving human lives, he said.
He went on to ask whether the Central Government and the State Government can bear responsibility for loss of lives due to exposure to COVID-19 in the course of the by-election.