Imphal, February 26 2009: Pleading on the constitutional head of the State to realize his constitutional duty in directing the State Government to initiate local self-government for the tribals, leaders from the Manipur Tribals Council today argue for the immediate intervention of His Excellency.

The state government never wants to see the tribals to have their own local self-government at village levels, and the district level as well, charged the council in its representation to the governor today.

The Government gives importance only to the Panchayats and Parishads elections in the valley by conducting but failed to uphold the same for district council elections in the hills.

The tribal democratic rights and constitutional safeguards were snatched away by the state government, said the council.

Article 46, 338, 339 and 340 of the Constitution require the Governor of Manipur to report to the President of India every ten years on the administration of the hill areas of Manipur, it adds and claimed that the President of India failed to fulfil its constitutional duties in this regard by not directing the State constitutional head to initiate election in the declared Scheduled area.

Tribal chiefs rights and their lands were still as it was from time immemorial, and we did not surrender them to any Government.

We only participate in Indian democracy, the memo maintained, but the state government denied them to participate in that democratic exercise.

Also sounding a warning note the cou-ncil warns of joining self determination movement if the Government intentionally curtails the tribals to participate in democratic exercise at the grass root level.

Though specifying March 2009 as the dateline for the state government to conduct the ADC election, the Governor is understood to have told them that the upcoming Lok Sabha will impede the process but assured the leaders to do his bit after the election.

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