Delimitation issue, State team petitions PM
Source: The Sangai Express / Manipur Info Centre

New Delhi, December 21: The delegation of the All Political Parties of Manipur led by Manipur Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh met Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh this morning at 9.45 at his residence here and submitted a memorandum on matters concerning the delimitation process in Manipur.

The memorandum stated that the delimitation process on the basis of 2001 Census has been objected by the Government of Manipur since 2003.All political parties of Manipur in their memoranda to the Chairman, Delimitation Commission of India, the Prime Minister and the Home Minister dated September 18, 2005 submitted also raised the same issue and appealed for directing the Registrar, General of Census for a recensus or maintain the status quo.

The All Political Parties team led by the Chief Minister pose for a photo shoot with the PM

The State Cabinet on July 30 this year again took a decision to reject the census report of 2001 in respect of Manipur.

The Manipur Legislative Assembly on August 1 this year also took a resolution objecting the process of delimitation on the basis of 2001 census.

The memorandum also mentioned that All Political Parties once again approached the Delimitation Commission, the Prime Minister and the Home Minister of India in August 2007 with another memorandum requesting not to proceed for the delimitation based on the 2001 census and that the issue was also pending in the Supreme Court.

The hearing of the case would begin from of January 25 next year.

It further stated that the Draft Delimitation Process worked out by the Commission had seriously affected the demographic balance of the majority population.

The arrangement of seats as worked out by the North Eastern Areas (Re-Organisation) Act, 1971 has now been violated.

The 40 seats for General would come down to 35 while for Scheduled Tribe (ST) it would increase from 19 to 23 and for Schedule Caste (SC) from 1 to 2.If the process for delimitation was further allowed to go ahead on the basis of 2001 census, there would be very serious problem in Manipur, it added.

In the memorandum, the All Political Parties of Manipur requested the Prime Minister of India to exempt Manipur from the purview of the Delimitation Commission as done in the case of Jammu & Kashmir, and also requested him to see that the Delimitation Process of Manipur be entrusted to the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs to address the genuine grievance or be exempted from the purview of the Delimitation Commission either.

After a patient hearing, the Prime Minister assured that he would consider the matter positively.

The delegation also met Union Minister of External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee, Chairman of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs at 11 am today and appraised the situation.

The signatories of the memorandum were Chief Minister O Ibobi; Gaikhangam, president, MPCC; Phungzathang Tonsing, Minister (Power); Md Allauddin Khan, Minister (RD); Dr L Chandramani, president, MPP; O Joy, MLA MPP; W Nipamacha, president, RJD; Md Helaluddin Khan, MLA, RJD; Dr Y Mahendra, CPI(M); Sarat Salam, State secretary, CPI(M); P Parijat, Minister (Health), CPI; Dr..MNara , CPI; Radhabinod Koijam, president, NCP; K.Saratkumar, general secretary, NCP; Dr..SDhananjoy, president, Samajwadi Party; S.Lala , Samajwadi Party; Dr.H.Borobabu , president BJP; Prof..STikendra, BJP; W Kulabidhu, Ex-MP president, JD(S); N Dhiren, JD(S); Y Mani, Ex-Minister, MSCP and M.Ibomcha, president, Samata Party.

In today�s meetings with the Prime Minister and the Union Minister of External Affairs, the Manipur Chief Minister O Ibobi who led the delegation accompanied Phungzathang Tonsing, O Joy, Dr.L Chandramani, Dr.H.Borobabu, Sarat Salam, K.Sharatkumar, Kh.

Jibon Singh, E.Kunjeshwar, and E.Dwijamani Singh, Cong MLA.