Manipur CM N Biren Singh meets locals to ease tensions

Guwahati: In a move to ease the present situation in the State, Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh met various representatives of different localities to discuss on the issues prevailing at the moment in the State. The Chief Minister said that there is no other way to bring peace other than through talks and sitting together upon the negotiating table. Khemchand said that the present unrest has brought hardships to daily wage earners and disrupted the academic environment of the children in the state. The government alone cannot bring peace unless the public and the Civil Society Organisations welcome it, the Chief Minister said reiterating his appeal to all stake holders to come to the negotiating table to bring peace and a solution to all issues in the state. He further stated that the government has taken Cabinet decisions to absorb the parents of the children killed in the unfortunate Tronglaobi incident into State government services, considering that the parents are said to be working in different places. And he continued that the measure was considered on humanitarian ground and not acting on any demands from the concerned JAC or parents, he added. The Chief Minister also stressed that the government will continue to put all efforts to ensure that the culprits are arrested at the earliest. Home Minister Govindas Konthoujam said that the government has been tolerating all democratic and non-violent demonstrations so far, and that the Chief Minister has even met different group of representatives that came to the Chief Minister's Secretariat following today's public rally. Today certain individuals who identified themselves as COCOMI members submitted a memorandum containing seven questions before the government, the Home Minister said briefing the media. The Home Minister continued that the government had already sent an invitation to the COCOMI to discuss all their grievances which has been declined. Replying to the questions included in the memorandum, the Home Minister observed that safeguarding all indigenous communities of the State is a strong commitment of the state government to the people. The government will not tolerate any form of terrorism including narco-terrorism with unlawful possession of arms and ammunitions that terrorises the common people, Govindas said adding that the Indian Government has already set a target to end all forms of terrorism in the North East by 2029. The Minister said that the case regarding the Tronglaobi incident has already been handed over to the NIA and that a team led by an Inspectors General (IG) of NIA has already visited the incident site. The Home Minister maintained that the government have made arrangement for the IDPs to return to their respective homes, but the process was hindered due to the present situation in the State. And the trust deficit among the communities have also delayed the process for the IDP's to return to their homes. He added, the Chief Minister also made visits to various relief camps of the IDP's of both communities whenever time permits. The State government cannot unilaterally make the decision regarding abrogation of Suspension of Operation (SoO) in the State as it involves the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) who plays a central, tripartite role in the SoO aggrement in the State.