IMPHAL, June 11 NNN : The All Tribal Students Union, Manipur (ATSUM) has threatened to intensify its ongoing agitation by imposing indefinite economic blockade in all the national highways leading to Manipur any day from now.
\nUnder the code name ROTO (Reckoning of the Others), ATSUM\u2019s agitation has completed 9 days today but the state government is still ignoring to address our demands,\u201d said ATSUM leaders while adding, \u201cSince the government seems to understand only the language of bandh and blockade, ATSUM is all prepared to resort to such radical forms of agitation including indefinite economic blockade any day.\u201d
\nAccording to the ATSUM leaders, the chief minister of Manipur or the state government is shying away from addressing the tribal problems head-on. \u201cFor three\/four times some ministers have unofficially and casually approached us but the chief minister has so far not hinted his interest to address the problems,\u201d rued ATSUM leaders.
\nRegarding the budget estimates of receipts for the current Financial Year of Rs 8990 crores against the expenditure estimates of Rs 9397.78 crores, ATSUM leaders pointed out that out of this hefty amount only Rs 30 crores have been earmarked for Hills and Tribal Affairs.
\n\u201cActually, Hill Area Committee (HAC) is the right authority in this connection but the state finance department has manipulated this process and therefore only Rs 30 crores was alloted for the Hills and Tribal Affairs,\u201d further pointed out ATSUM leaders while asking, \u201cWhy the tribal MLAs have not raised any question when such discrimination is happening?\u201d The ATSUM asked all the tribal MLAs irrespective of their party affiliations to stand up unitedly for the cause of the tribal people.
\nATSUM then proposed to have a strong tribal based civil organisation in Manipur which will be for a common good of the tribal people.
\nUNA adds The Kuki Students\u2019 Organization-General headquarters has threatened the state government not to initiate any talk with the \u201cPseudo ATSUM\u201d.
\nIn a statement of the student body that threatened government not to hold talks with \u201cPseudo ATSUM\u201d, the KSO said that if government happened to do so, the student body would assume the government as betrayer of whole tribal people and the KSO-GHQ would be compelled to launch agitation.
\nAny decision or understanding is arrived between the state government and \u201cPseudo ATSUM\u201d, KSO-GHQ would declare it as \u201cNull and Void\u201d the statement added.
\nIt s is closely monitoring the activities of \u201cPseudo ATSUM\u201d as well as the government. It would be a wise decision to stay away from the \u201cPseudo\u201d student body.<\/p>\n\n