UPA govt rejected ILP proposal for Manipur in 2012 N Biren Singh

Imphal, Apr 1 (PTI) Former Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh on Tuesday accused the Congress-led UPA government of rejecting a proposal in Parliament on introducing the Inner Line Permit (ILP) regime in the state in 2012.
    He also charged the then government with blatantly appeasing illegal immigrants.
    In a post on X, Singh recalled that during a Parliament session on September 4, 2012, the then Manipur Lok Sabha MP, Dr Thokchom Meinya, raised the issue of ILP in Manipur.
    Singh claimed that the Congress-led UPA government not only delayed the issue but rejected the demand.
    Singh quoted the reply from the then Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri Mullappaly Ramachandran: "The Inner Line Permit System under Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873 applies only to the three North-Eastern States of Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland which cannot be extended to the State of Manipur as per extant regulation.
    Singh expressed his disappointment, saying, "No empathy, no willingness to consider Manipur’s distinct history and identity, just a cold bureaucratic dismissal.
    He also questioned whether the Congress leadership in Manipur had informed the people about the rejection of ILP in Parliament, calling it 'shameless denial' of Manipur’s legitimate demand for ILP.
    Singh further accused Congress of "deliberate neglect" and of "blatant appeasement of illegal immigrants," saying the party treated indigenous people as second-class citizens.
    "The truth is, Congress never cared. Our voices were ignored, our identity trampled, and our legitimate demands laughed off in Parliament," he said.
    Singh also questioned if they (congress leadership) speak to the people, seek guidance or show the slightest empathy? adding the party "stayed silent, unmoved, disconnected and completely absent from the ground.
    The former CM said it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah who respected Manipur's sentiments and fulfilled the long-standing demand for ILP in the state in 2019.
    Singh said, "In sharp contrast, it was the BJP Government under Hon'ble Prime Minister @narendramodi and Hon'ble Home Minister @AmitShah that finally respected Manipur's sentiments.
    "They understood the unique history and socio-political realities of the state. In 2019, they fulfilled a long-standing demand and gave Manipur the ILP, a constitutional safeguard we had been fighting for, for decades," he added.
    A Congress spokesperson said that the party leaders have seen the post, will discuss it among themselves, and then come up with a comment soon.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)