WMC sounds CM with ST call
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By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Apr 14 : The World Meetei Council (WMC) has urged Chief Minister N Biren Singh to send the socio-economic and ethnographic reports of Meetei/Meitei to the Centre as soon as possible and ensure the ethnic group gets the Scheduled Tribe (ST) status before the delimitation exercise of 2026.
In a statement, the Council said that the social and political leaders of the Meetei/Meitei community objected to the proposal to officially recognise the ethnic group as a ST at the time when several communities in the hill districts were given the ST status.
Saying that ex-MP R Suisa, former Chief Minister Rishang Keishing, former Chief Secretary KK Sethi and former Governor Vedh Marwah also advocated that Meetei/Meitei must be given the ST status, the WMC continued that Meetei MLAs and officials, however, rejected the proposal. People were never consulted when dismissing the proposal to grant ST tag to the Meetei/Meitei, it maintained and claimed that N Biren Singh has also been following the stand of his predecessors (Meetei/Meitei legislators).
The Chief Minister and Meetei/Meitei legislators don't understand how weak the ethnic group has become, the WMC rued and added that outsiders have started to disrupt the rituals of Sharoi Khangba at Jiribam. Claiming that one Kuki IAS officer chalked out the roadmap for the betterment of his kindred people including those from outside Manipur right from 1951, the WMC added that indigenous Meetei/Meitei, on the other hand, is still not getting the benefit of being a rightful citizen.
The dream of Zalengam will start disappearing once Meetei/Meitei is given the ST status, the Council said and added that enlistment of Meetei/Meitei in the ST list before the delimitation of 2026 is of paramount importance. Meanwhile, the WMC held a demonstration at Kakching Lamkhai and demanded that Meetei/Meitei must be given the ST status.
IMPHAL, Apr 14 : The World Meetei Council (WMC) has urged Chief Minister N Biren Singh to send the socio-economic and ethnographic reports of Meetei/Meitei to the Centre as soon as possible and ensure the ethnic group gets the Scheduled Tribe (ST) status before the delimitation exercise of 2026.
In a statement, the Council said that the social and political leaders of the Meetei/Meitei community objected to the proposal to officially recognise the ethnic group as a ST at the time when several communities in the hill districts were given the ST status.
Saying that ex-MP R Suisa, former Chief Minister Rishang Keishing, former Chief Secretary KK Sethi and former Governor Vedh Marwah also advocated that Meetei/Meitei must be given the ST status, the WMC continued that Meetei MLAs and officials, however, rejected the proposal. People were never consulted when dismissing the proposal to grant ST tag to the Meetei/Meitei, it maintained and claimed that N Biren Singh has also been following the stand of his predecessors (Meetei/Meitei legislators).
The Chief Minister and Meetei/Meitei legislators don't understand how weak the ethnic group has become, the WMC rued and added that outsiders have started to disrupt the rituals of Sharoi Khangba at Jiribam. Claiming that one Kuki IAS officer chalked out the roadmap for the betterment of his kindred people including those from outside Manipur right from 1951, the WMC added that indigenous Meetei/Meitei, on the other hand, is still not getting the benefit of being a rightful citizen.
The dream of Zalengam will start disappearing once Meetei/Meitei is given the ST status, the Council said and added that enlistment of Meetei/Meitei in the ST list before the delimitation of 2026 is of paramount importance. Meanwhile, the WMC held a demonstration at Kakching Lamkhai and demanded that Meetei/Meitei must be given the ST status.