This New Year may not bring smile to Manipuris

With this week’s crucial talks between the Manipur government and the joint action committee of Churachandpur to resolve the impasse over the three controversial land bills remains inconclusive.

Hope of funeral for the eight protestors who died last September in the police firing, and whose mortal remains have not been received from the hospital as yet, will not take place early 2016.

A very crucial round of talks that were held in state capital between the leadership of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of Churachandpur formed against the three bills passed by the state Assembly on August 31 and the state government delegation led by Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh, could not arrive to a conclusion about the core demands of the agitating group, government sources added.

The agitators are demanding the repeal of the three land reform bills including the Inner Line Permit bills which will impose certain restrictions to entry of outsiders in the state.

The agitators have told the government that unless their core demands are met they are not going to receive the dead bodies of the eight agitators.

The dead bodies have been kept in the morgue of the civil hospital in Churachandpur since last September.

Official sources added both sides had failed to resolve on the core demand which included withdrawal of the bills or insertion of a clause that the bills will not affect the hill areas and to include a representative of the Centre in the talks between the JAC and the state government.
DH News Service