Manipur's Apunba Lup, the amalgam of 32 organisations, is still not ready for a dialogue with the Centre as they declined the invitation of Chief Minister Ibobi Singh to accompany him to Delhi. Before coming to Delhi, Ibobi had sent a local journalists’ body to talk to the Apunba Lup and persuade them to come to Delhi for talks, sources said. However, the latter declined the invitation, even though Singh, for the record, said Apunba Lup is ready to talk to both the state as well as the Centre. Adding to the confusion was Home Minister Shivraj Patil, who said the ‘‘best method’’ to resolve the problem would be for the Apunba Lup to first talk to the state. ‘‘But we are also willing to talk. In fact, we welcome them if they want to come to us,’’ he said after an hour-long meeting with the CM, who also met PM Manmohan Singh. ‘‘They are kids. They are studying — doing their BA, MA and working towards their doctorates. They can come here if they want,’’ Patil said about the agitators. About amending the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, he said it could not be his decision and had to be taken by the Cabinet as a whole. Singh had asked him for amending the Act. Patil ruled out complete withdrawal of the Act, saying that ‘‘extortions, and secessionist and separatist movements are still going on in the state’’. Sources, however, said even amending the Act was not feasible since Manipur is not the only state where it is in force. ‘‘There are other Northeastern states and also J-K where the Act is in force. It is not possible to amend the Act without consulting all these states,’’ said a Home Ministry official. Patil, meanwhile, said the Manipur Chief Minister had informed him normalcy was returning in the state. They also discussed some projects for the state. ‘‘Singh came here with some proposals for the state which we are considering. These include granting Central University status to Manipur University, setting up a management institute, connecting the state by rail and highways, and starting some employment generating projects,’’ the Home Minister said. ‘Post-mortem rules out Manorama rape’
