All Manipur Youth Protection Committee (AMYPCO) contended that the proposed ADC Bill, 2021 was a “venomous” ploy to sway the innocent hill brethrens, conjured by those who are in electoral politics, in view of the upcoming state general election slated to be held in early part of 2022.
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All Manipur Youth Protection Committee (AMYPCO) on Tuesday contended that the Manipur (Hill Areas) Autonomous District Council Bill, 2021, was a “venomous” ploy to sway the innocent hill brethrens, conjured by those who are in electoral politics in view of the upcoming state general election slated to be held in early part of 2022.
The Bill should be thoroughly discussed by the people of the state before going ahead, AMYPCO said in a release. Members of the Manipur Legislative Assembly should look into the Bill minutely, it added.
The committee maintained that Article 371C of the Indian Constitution which was enshrined for the welfare of the hill brethrens after Manipur was merged with India, has become a tool to divide the state. The people of the state know who are behind the elected representatives, trying to set up a double administrative system and divide the state, it added.
Many in the state have been voicing against any design to set territorial councils and 6th Schedule on communal lines. It is unfortunate that the majority Meitei/Meetei community is being projected as someone who is trying to obstruct the development of hill brethrens, it added.
The release further maintained that the state government can give more administrative power and funding for the development of the hill brethrens. But it should be done without the state’s power and function. The state government should take the opinions of the people into consideration and make sure that the Bill does not become an unwanted issue.
The release also mentioned that the additional chief secretary (TA and Hills), Government of Manipur, Letkhogin Haokip had sought “sufficient time” from the Hill Areas Committee for the Department of Tribal Affairs and Hills to follow due process of law before placing the matter before the state assembly, since the Bill is sensitive.