The crucial one-day session of the Manipur assembly will be held on Tuesday in the shadow of the ethnic violence that has rocked the state since May 3. The previous Assembly session was held in March and according to the constitutional norms, a session must be held every six months.
The session is being held amid widespread criticism of it being an 'eye wash' to avoid a contstitutional crisis. The opposition Congress had alleged that session is not being held in public interest.
What's on the agenda
Manipur Speaker Satyabrata Singh said the prevailing situation in the state will be discussed. However, there will be no question hour or private member resolutions during the session.
According to reports, the calendar for the session issued on Saturday only included three items—obituary references, presentation of committee reports if any, and “other businesses” if any. Slamming the session, former Manipur chief minister and Congress leader Okram Ibobi Singh said that the session needs to be held for at least five days to discuss the ongoing situation in the northeastern state. "In my experience, on a day when obituary references are taken up, no other business is discussed,” he said.
The 10 Kuki-Zomi MLAs will be skipping the session, citing safety concerns amid the ethnic strife. Seven of these MLAs belong to the ruling BJP, two are from the government's alliance partner, Kuki People’s Alliance (KPA), and one is an independent. According to NDTV, the legislators said it is unsafe to travel for the assembly session to the capital city of Imphal, which is Meitei-dominated. Naga MLAs are likely to attend the session.
In a joint statement on Sunday, the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU) and the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) said considering the complete breakdown of law and order and the failure of the state government in protecting the lives of the common people and officials, convening the session "is devoid of logic and rationality."
Resolution to be adopted?
Amid speculations that the Biren Singh-led BJP government might adopt a resolution to preserve the territorial integrity of Manipur, Kuki bodies have stated that no such resolution will be binding in Kuki regions.
Ahead of the crucial session, eight Naga MLAs had expressed support for Biren Singh to press the Union government to not listen to the ‘separate administration’ demand of the Kuki community
In a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier in August, the 10 Kuki-Zomi MLAs requested that posts “equivalent to chief secretary and DGP” be set up for the five hill districts of the state where the community has been residing since violence broke out.