RK Anand quits electoral politics, to be back as social activist

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Nov 8: Ex-MLA RK Anand has retired from electoral politics and is all set to return as a social activist.
Earlier RK Anand worked as a social activist on many key issues of the State such as territorial integrity, human rights violation etc, before he joined DRPP and contested State Assembly election.
He also contested the last Lok Sabha election on the ticket of North East India Development Party (NEIDP).
Speaking to media persons at his Kwakeithel residence this afternoon, RK Anand said that he has resigned from the party (NEIDP) and the party president has approved his resignation.
He went on to claim that he gave proper reasons to several questions raised by many people when he left Congress party.
He said that he joined NEIDP with a belief that key   issues of the State such as threats to territorial integrity, human rights violation and incessant influx can be tackled effectively by raising these issues at proper political platforms.
“I joined NEIDP with a plan to build a strong force of regionalism but I could not translate the plan into action. There were many limitations on the part of NEIDP. Same was the case with all other political parties with which I was associated”, Anand confided.
Saying that these failures were his personal defeat, Anand conveyed that he has decided to work together with the masses as a social activist and dedicate all his resources and time in tackling major issues of the State.
The threats to the integrity of Manipur which is home to many ethnic groups is one of the most critical issues of the State. The current situation is such that the 2000 years old history of Manipur has lost its direction and is on the verge of being wiped out completely, Anand said.
The 60 MLAs are there to protect Manipur but many of the MLAs stayed away from a meeting convened by the State Government on the crucial Naga issue and as a result the meeting could not adopt any resolution, he noted.
The Ministers and MLAs by staying away from the crucial meeting committed crime against the people of Manipur, asserted the ex-MLA.
He then urged the Chief Minister to dismiss all the Ministers and MLAs who did not turn up at the meeting.
Saying that Chief Minister N Biren was one of the vanguards in the struggle to safeguard the integrity of Manipur, Anand demanded the State Government to convene a special session of the State Assembly at the earliest.
He also urged Chief Minister N Biren to team up with his Assam and Nagaland counterparts in order to ascertain all the details of the proposed Naga  Accord from the Prime Minister’s Office.
It was the massive civil movement of June 18, 2001 which compelled the Government of India to remove the words ‘without territorial limits’ from the Bangkok Declaration, he reminded.
Anand then urged the Chief Minister to hold a special Miyamgi Numit and seek opinions, ideas and suggestions from all so that all the people including the Government and COCOMI can tackle the issue collectively.
The dynamics of the Naga talks indicate that the State’s territorial integrity would not be disturbed but the ‘internal integrity’ would be disturbed, he remarked while appealing    for peaceful and harmonious co-existence among all the communities living in Manipur.