Body against taking over of Palace

IMPHAL, July 2 NNN : The people of Manipur is all set to take up strong movement against the Manipur cabinet decision of taking over the Royal Palace of Manipur (Sana Konung). On Tuesday, Sana Konung Semgat-Sagat Lup and Sana Konung Royal Council have warned of going to the President of India to intervene. The […]

IMPHAL, July 2 NNN : The people of Manipur is all set to take up strong movement against the Manipur cabinet decision of taking over the Royal Palace of Manipur (Sana Konung).
On Tuesday, Sana Konung Semgat-Sagat Lup and Sana Konung Royal Council have warned of going to the President of India to intervene.
The two organisations had submitted a joint lengthy memorandum on June 27 to President Pranab Mukherjee urging him to intervene.
“The Royal Palace should not be made into a historical monument as the king still exists and very much the activities of the Royal Palace are there,” said Puyam Tomcha, legal advisor to the Sana Konung Royal Palace Council while adding, “If the state government does not review its decision, the royal family will occupy the Kangla Fort which is now been maintained by the state government of Manipur after the Assam Rifles had left the fort.
“In the Merger Agreement, it is clearly mentioned that the Royal Palace is the private property of Maharaja of Manipur. The king has been living in the Palace and performing all customary rites and rituals as the sole authority. It is a fundamental right of the King which has been enumerated in Article 26 of Indian Constitution. So, the decision of the State Cabinet to take over Royal Palace is in violation of the fundamental right enshrined in the Constitution of India,” Tomcha reiterated. Puyam Tomcha then asked to abolish the Kangla Fort Board.
Few days ago, the Tangkhul chiefs’ body and the Federation of All Tribal Youth Clubs, Manipur (FATYCM) had said they condemned the ‘hasty decision’ of Manipur Cabinet to ‘take over’ the sacred Royal Palace saying the state Government is appeared to be acting like the title-holder of the historical site.
It is the onus of the state Government to refurbish the palace through ‘funding’ and then handing over the task to the Sana Konung Semgat Sagat Lup or other bodies working for preservation of the palace, FATYCM said.
It said the Government should honour the Sana Konung and take care of it by means of backing only and flayed the former for purportedly being ‘acquisitive.’On June 22, the Manipur cabinet had resolved to take over 12 to 13 acres of the Royal Palace area in the heart of Imphal and develop it to retain the glorious era of Manipur’s existence as an independent nation in the past.
Ever since this decision of the state government, people including Maharaja Sanajaoba Leishemba have been carrying out sit-in-protest in front of the Palace.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/body-against-taking-over-of-palace/