Manipur leaders seek meeting with PM Narendra Modi, Amit Shah over Naga talks

GUWAHATI: As Manipur remained on the edge over the Centre-NSCN (I-M) talks for a final agreement on the resolution of decades-old Naga political problem, a delegation of the state's ruling BJP has rushed to New Delhi to seek an appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure that "territorial integrity" of the state is kept intact.
The NSCN (I-M) wants Naga-inhabited areas of Assam, Manipur, and Arunachal Pradesh to be lumped with Nagalim (greater Nagaland), which they want to form by including parts of Myanmar.Integration of Naga-inhabited areas is one of the core demands of NSCN (IM), and Manipur has been opposing the demand.
"We are seeking an appointment with the Prime Minister to ensure that the territorial integrity of Manipur remains unscathed. We are also seeking an appointment for meeting Union home minister Amit Shah on the issue. We are hopeful of getting the appointments after Diwali," Manipur BJP general secretary N Nimbus Singh said.
Singh said the BJP delegation was holding meetings with different party central leaders on the issue of maintaining the state's territorial integrity intact.
Singh is part of a five-member BJP delegation that left for New Delhi on Friday, after the state saw a number of protests demanding safeguard of the state's territorial integrity as the deadline for the Naga agreement on October 31 draws closer. Also, the government stepped up efforts in making sufficient stock of essential commodities in districts, including Imphal East and Ukhrul (the home district of NSCN (I-M) general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah). In the past, the Manipur capital has faced immense hardships because of economic blockades by agitators in Nagaland and Manipur's Naga-dominated areas. Most of the supplies to Imphal come from other parts of the country through these areas.
On Thursday, an all-political meeting was chaired by chief minister N Biren Singh on the Naga peace talks vis-a-vis territorial integrity of Manipur. A drafting sub-committee comprising a representative each from the BJP, the NPP, the CPI, the INC, the MPP, the Shiv Sena, the LJP and the NEIDP, was also formed to draft a memorandum on the issue that will be submitted to PM.
On Wednesday, Manipur assembly speaker Y Khemchand Singh, wrote to PM Narendra Modi, stating that any change to the existing boundary was "unacceptable and non-negotiable" to the people of the state.
The BJP-led government in Manipur passed a resolution on July 23 last year reiterating its commitment to safeguard the state's territorial integrity.