Churachandpur, February 05: The former Congress (I) president T Phungjathang 58-Churachandpur (ST) Assembly Constituency candidate said the Indian National Congress always stood steadfast with the people of Manipur in defending the territorial integrity of the state which was threatened by the Bangkok Agreement of the 14th June 2001.The candidate said the INC has been committed to the territorial integrity of Manipur consistently since Independence.

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru ensured the territorial integration of the erstwhile princely state in the Union of India in 1949.When the North-Eastern states were reorganized in 1973 the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi also guaranteed the state's territorial integrity while bringing unprecedented peace and tranquility to the North-Eastern region, he said.

According to the former president of the MPCC(I), it was the Congress party which rose to the defence of Manipur's territorial integrity when it was thrown in doubt on the 14th June, 2001.The state unit of the Congress expressed clearly and unambiguously opposition to the addition of the three words "without territorial limits" in the Bangkok Agreement.

He said in Parliament both in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, Congress MPs were in the forefront demanding the removal of all implications of these words for the territorial integrity of Manipur.