Et Demand News Today

The Schedule Tribe Demand Committee Manipur (STDCM) on Sunday met independent MP candidate Haorungbam Sarat to solidify his stance on the demand to include Meitei/Meetei in the ST list.

A single bench of High Court of Manipur by Justice Golmei Gaiphulshillu had on Wednesday ordered the removal of a paragraph from the March 27, 2023 order passed by the then Acting Chief Justice MV Muralidharan which directed the state government to consider the inclusion of the Meitei community in the scheduled tribe list.

The World Meetei Council (WMC) urges Manipur CM N Biren Singh to send the required reports on Meetei’s ethnography and Meetei’s latest socio-economic to the Centre before the Parliamentary elections.

“If the Manipur government had addressed the ST demand by Meiteis on time, that could have aided in resolving the issue."

The Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee Manipur (STDCM) appealed to MLAs to persuade Chief Minister N Biren Singh, urging proactive steps before January 31, including the submission of necessary documents for Meitei enlistment.

STDCM president Yumnam Dhiraj asserted that the Meitei/Meetei's demand for ST inclusion was not the spark which led to the eruption of the May 3 violence.

The Miss Call Campaign to ramp up the demand for inclusion of Meitei/Meetei in the ST list will continue till December 20.

The movement is a long-planned agenda by the Kukis for years and the Union home minister’s repeated claim is an attempt to escalate further violence, Manipur CPI alleged in a release.

The Manipur High Court stated that despite the prevailing law and order situation in the state, applicants have prayed for a one-year period for the consideration of the direction.

STDCM questioned whether the assault was actually an act of retaliation against the government initiatives against illegal poppy plantation drive in the hill areas of the state among others.