Two Bills seeking to give more powers to Manipur Hill Areas Committee and Autonomous District Councils were on Tuesday tabled in the state Assembly, The Indian Express reported.
State Tribal Affairs and Hills Minister Letpao Haokip introduced the two proposed laws – the Manipur (Hill Areas) District Councils (Sixth Amendment) Bill and the Manipur (Hill Areas) District Councils (Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2022, in the House.
The Hill Areas Committee – a body consisting of 18 legislators from the tribal hill districts – had proposed a law titled the Manipur (Hill Areas) Autonomous District Council Bill last year. It was not clear whether the Bills tabled in the Assembly on Tuesday contain the same provisions as those proposed by the committee.
Meanwhile, the Manipur Police on Tuesday arrested at least four members of the All Tribal Students’ Union Manipur – an apex body representing tribal students in the state – after the organisation called for a shutdown from 6 pm on Wednesday in the hill districts.
After the arrests, the ATSUM brought forward the shutdown to 6 pm on Tuesday.
In the Kangpokpi district, protestors blocked vehicles on a national highway from 7 pm on Tuesday, East Mojo reported. The Tangkhul Katamnao Saklong, a federating unit of ATSUM, enforced a similar shutdown in the district of Ukhrul.
The Tangkhul Katamnao Saklong…
