The Congress delegation met Governor Najma Heptullah. (File)The Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) Monday submitted a memorandum to Manipur Governor Njama Heptulla, asking her to convene an immediate special session of the state Assembly to take a unanimous resolution to oppose the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019. The delegation was led by party president T N Haokip, CLP leader and former CM Okram Ibobi and CWC member Gaikhangam.
Following the meeting, Okram said if the chief ministers of Northeast states together oppose the bill, the government of India will take people’s voice seriously. He said the chief ministers of Mizoram and Meghalaya has opposed the bill.
Earlier, chief minister N Biren Singh had said that he had asked the Centre to insert a clause in the bill to protect the indigenous people of Manipur. “Will his request be accepted by the Centre when the bill has already been passed in the Lok Sabha despite strong opposition by the Northeastern states?” Ibobi questioned.
Is the BJP led state government afraid of the Central government if it opposes the bill, he asked.
“We have been asking for an all-party meeting and urging for a special Assembly session. As there has been no response to our demand we approached the Governor. We want to help the government take a unanimous resolution in the House to oppose the bill from passing it in Rajya Sabha in the next session scheduled to begin on January 30,” Ibobi said.
The governor, however, told the delegation that it will not be possible to convene a special session immediately as the house was prorogued just two days back. It would take 15 days to convene another session.