Boycott I: Mani shunned

Mani Charenamei

Imphal, April 16 : The Thoubal District Development and Demand Council, an organisation formed by voters of eight Assembly constituencies today announced that it would boycott Mani Charenamei, who is seeking re-election from Outer Manipur constituency.

The president of the council, Sougrakpam Roben, said the council decided to boycott Charenamei, who is contesting on a Peoples Democratic Alliance ticket, for advocating Naga unification in his election campaign. The announcement came on the eve of tomorrow’s polling in the constituency.

Seven Assembly constituencies in Thoubal district — Heirok, Wangjing Tentha, Hiyanglam, Khangabok, Wabagai, Kakching and Sugunu and Imphal East’s Jiribam — are included in Outer. The majority of the voters in these constituencies are Meiteis.

As the constituency is reserved for Scheduled Tribes, other tribals under the banner of the council have fighting for the right to contest elections in the Outer.

The council is also demanding the creation of one more Lok Sabha seat out of the eight constituencies, which has a total of 207,888 voters. Charenamei is openly campaign for the unification of all contiguous Naga-inhabited areas and he promised voters that he would continue to fight for Naga unification if re-elected.

By promising Naga integration, Charenamei has been targeting Naga voters, who are a majority in this constituency. However, a boycott may not have much impact as Charenamei could garner only 2,224 votes in the last election. But he is likely to get the support of the Scheduled Tribe voters in the eight Assembly constituencies, particularly the Nagas.

The council did not support any particular candidate but its president appealed to the voters to vote for candidates who could fight any design to break Manipur’s territorial integrity.

“Mani openly said he was elected by the Nagas, so he would work for the Nagas in Parliament. This is very unfortunate because he is not representing only the Nagas but various communities living in his constituency,” Roben said.

Nine candidates are in the fray in this constituency. The others are Thangso Baite (Congress), M. Yamkhongam (RJD), Thangkhangin Ngaite (Lok Jana Shakti Party), Rose Mangshi Haokip (Independent), Lamlalmoi Gangte (Independent) L.B. Sona (NCP), D. Loli Adanee (BJP) and Valley Rose Hungyo (Independent).

Bandh to protest Thoubal killing

Imphal, Jan 15 : Normal life was affected in chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh’s home district, Thoubal, after a joint action committee called a 48-hour bandh from 5am today throughout the district, demanding action against security personnel responsible for killing of an “innocent” man.

Shops and business establishments were closed in most parts of the district. Transport services, too, were disrupted.

Reports reaching here said while normal bus services were suspended today because transport bodies observed “drivers’ day,” a few autorickshaws plied.

There was no report of any violence.

A joint team of the Assam Rifles and police gunned down 30-year-old Moirangthem Tomba Singh, a resident of Langathel Laikon, in an “encounter” at Thoubal’s Mahadev Chingkhong last Sunday.

Police said the man was suspected to be a cadre of the Manipur-based Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL) and the joint team recovered one 9mm pistol with five rounds of live ammunition from him.

The family of the deceased, however, rejected the police claim and accused the joint team of “killing” an “innocent” person in “custody”.

Residents of Tomba Singh’s village formed a joint action committee to take up the matter with the government. The family is yet to accept the dead body.

The committee called the bandh demanding a judicial inquiry into the killing and an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh.

“Tomba was a timber trader. He did not have any link with any militant outfit.

He left home on Friday morning and was returning on Sunday morning with Rs 32,000 after his routine trading activities in the house of another timber trader, as Kh. Nandakumar Singh. Some security personnel in civil dress arrested him from a bus parking area at Kakching bazaar on the day he was killed,” Ibemcha Devi, Tomba’s sister-in-law said.

Konsam Thoibi Devi, secretary of the action committee, said the committee would continue its agitation until its demands were met.