Naga deal won't affect Manipur: Radheshyam

IMPHAL: Union home minister Amit Shah has told Manipur chief minister Biren Singh that the final Naga settlement would not affect the state's integrity and interest at any cost.
Shah's assurance was given to a team of the state government, headed by chief minister Singh, at a meeting in New Delhi on Sunday. The group returned to Imphal on Monday. Manipur assembly speaker Yumnam Khemchand, works minister Th Biswajit, education minister Thokchom Radheshyam, Lok Sabha MP RK Ranjan and Rajya Sabha MP Ksh Bhabananda accompanied the CM to Delhi.
At the Imphal airport, Radheshyam told reporters in the afternoon that the Union home minister has promised them that the peace talks between the Centre and the NSCN(I-M) will not affect Manipur's integrity under any circumstances. He appealed to the people to ease the tension brewing in the state in the backdrop of the final phase of the Naga peace talks.
The final agreement would be signed between the Centre and the NSCN(I-M) after consulting all the stakeholders, said Radheshyam, who is also the spokesperson of the state government. He added that all leaders of the state civil society organisations would join the stakeholders' meeting in New Delhi before the final agreement.
The Coordination Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), which is spearheading a campaign to protect Manipur's integrity, said the assurance given by the Union home minister is "doubtful" as it was not given in written. Assistant coordinator of COCOMI Jitendra Ningomba asked the Centre to make the contents of the Naga framework agreement public.
Under the aegis of COCOMI, various civil bodies, local clubs and students staged widespread protests across the valley districts on Monday. Union of Social Upliftment , a conglomerate of 25 local clubs of the Khurai area in Imphal East, also staged a demonstration.