Committee to boycott I-Day celebrations on ILP in Manipur

Imphal, Aug 13: The Joint Committee on Inner Line Permit System (JCILPS) today said it would boycott the Independence Day celebrations since the system had not been implemented in Manipur.

The 'JCILPS' would continue their three-month old stir till its demand was met by the government because unceasing influx of people from other states was trying to outnumber the indigenous people of the state, its spokesman Ibotombi Khuman told mediapersons here.

"We are not against entering of people particularly migrant labourers, but we want a system (inner line permit) to restrict the entry so that the identity of indigenous people is protected," he said.

He blamed the politicians for encouraging the entry of outsiders to make their votebank and said that there was already a demographic imbalance in the state because of the presence of the outsiders. The system is now in force in neighbouring Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh.

Official sources said a 13-member committed headed by Deputy Chief Minister Gaikhangam had been formed to look into the matter whether a law could be enacted by the state Assembly to protect the indigenous people of the state.

Former Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court Justice (retd) R K Manisana during a meeting on the issue last week had said that the state government under Article 19 of the Constitution could enact laws to protect the identity of indigenous people in the state.

PTI