Many injured as protest outside Manipur Bhavan turns ugly

Police employ baton charge to disperse agitators; more than 40 arrested  

DIMAPUR, JUNE 7 : A protest rally organized by the Manipur Tribal’s Forum Delhi (MTFD) outside Manipur Bhavan against the attempt by an all-party delegation from Manipur to get the central government’s assent on three contentious Anti-migrant Bills turned violent on Tuesday evening when police used force to disperse the demonstrators.

An MTFD member told Eastern Mirror over the phone that some of the protesters were seriously injured. The protestors were mostly college students and young professionals.
Another source from Delhi claimed that “more than 40 people” were arrested and some of the women allegedly molested “on purpose” by the police personnel.

Reports gathered from some of the student leaders present at the protest site have suggested that there were some “provocations” from those up in the terrace of the Bhavan which led to more violent response from the agitators.

The agitators also attacked and caused damage to the police vehicles, according to reports from agencies. Earlier, the MTFD had labelled the all-party delegation led by the led by Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh as a sham and an attempt to mislead the central government because an important political party representing the tribals, the Naga Peoples Front (NPF) was neither taken into the consideration nor sought for consultation by delegation.

The protest came despite the central government telling the all-party delegation from Manipur that the all the three controversial bills have been rejected.

President rejects 3 anti-migrant bills

President Pranab Mukherjee withheld his assent on May 11 — nearly a month ago — to three anti-migrant bills passed by the Manipur Assembly which are aimed at regulating the entry and stay of migrants in the state.

An official document, a copy of which is with IANS, says that the President has remarked: “I withhold assent from the bills.”

No reason was furnished for the decision. This implies that the Chief Minister of Manipur and other political leaders were keeping this information as a closely guarded secret from the people who were in blissful ignorance as they took out demonstrations in the streets to demand implementation of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) in Manipur, to protect the indigenous people of the state.

The Speaker of the Manipur Legislative Assembly Thokchom Lokeswor sent the bills to Governor Sayeed Ahmed on August 31, 2015, the day they were passed in the Assembly.

The contentious bills are the Manipur Land Reforms and Land Revenue (7th Amendment) Bill, 2015, the Manipur Shops and Establishment (2nd Amendment) Bill, 2015 and the Manipur Protection of Peoples Bill, 2015.

In view of the opposition from the tribal groups in the state, the governor did not give his assent to the bills but sent them to the President on September 16, 2015 with the remark: “I reserve the bills for consideration of the President.”

While the bills were pending in the office of the President there were various forms of agitation in Manipur. At least 10 persons — one supporting the bills and nine opposing the legislations — were killed and a few hundred others were injured in police crackdowns.

Normal life has been thrown out of gear as a result of the continuous agitations. The nine dead bodies of the tribals have been lying in the morgue in Churachandpur district all these months.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state leaders called on Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju on the issue.

The delegates of the political parties from Manipur also held a meeting with Rajnath Singh on Tuesday during which a memorandum was submitted. After the meeting, the delegates held a protracted meeting in Manipur House, in Delhi.

It is understood that Rajnath Singh has conveyed the impossibility of acting on the bills now that the President has withheld his assent.

The agitationists in Manipur have made it clear that if the delegates return to Manipur empty-handed they will face the wrath of the people.

The activists are also not happy that the government withheld information about the action by the President since the last month and allowed the people to go on strike.

Meanwhile, tribal organisations, apprehensive of the reaction from the central leaders, have given final touches to launch agitations from Thursday onwards. (IANS)