IMPHAL, September 16: A tribal conclave on the `anti-tribal`™ policies of the State government including the three bills passed by the Manipur Legislative Assembly on August 31 was held today at YPA GHQ Hall, Hiangtam Lamka in Churachandpur district.
According to the Joint Action Committee Churachandpur, the conclave attended by representatives of various tribal Innpis (Councils), church leaders, intellectuals, social workers, women organizations, philanthropic organizations, academicians, scholars etc made a threadbare discussion and adopted certain resolutions.
It unanimously resolved to out-rightly reject the three bills passed by the Assembly namely the Protection of Manipur Peoples Bill, 2015; Manipur Land Revenue & Land Reforms (Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2015 and Manipur Shops & Establishment (Second Amendment) Bill, 2015 as it is unconstitutional and infringe on the rights of the tribal in Manipur.
The bills shall not be enforced in all the areas managed and administered by the Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) in the State and Government of Manipur should convene a Special Assembly Session and pass another bill for exclusion of areas under the jurisdiction of ADCs, the conclave resolved.
The above three resolutions shall be done and completed within a specific timeframe on or before September 30 by the Government of Manipur, it made it clear.
Further deciding to continue its movement until and unless the government takes up satisfactory steps towards the resolutions adopted by the tribal conclave, it also resolved that the JAC should submit a memorandum to the Governor of Manipur and President of India at the earliest.
The tribal conclave also unanimously resolved to fully support the political process initiated by the Government of India with the tribal groups in Manipur.