Dimapur, January 6 (MExN): The United Naga Council (UNC) of Manipur today declared explicitly that the Nagas will oppose the Congress party in Manipur “and confronted headlong.” The UNC issued a statement today clearly stating that “Ibobi” and “MPCC” (Manipur chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh and Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee) will be “confronted headlong” in the coming 10th Manipur state assembly polls.
The UNC statement made this declaration: “The communal government of Manipur led by the Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) under Ibobi has pushed the Nagas to the wall. The legitimate and democratic rights of the Nagas and tribals are being taken away through acts, legislations and legal measures against natural justice. Our students have been shot dead and hundred wounded for protesting against suppressions.
Our leaders have been declared wanted as if they are criminals. Our frontal organisations are sought to be banned by the GoM as if we are outlaws. Therefore Ibobi and the MPCC will be opposed by the Nagas and confronted headlong.”
In the forthcoming 10th general elections, the council said, the Nagas in Manipur will participate to give “greater effect to the severance of political ties with the communal GoM.” According to the council, the election cannot be about individual or village or tribe interest. ‘It is about securing the tribal’s legitimate rights and enabling them to shape their collective future and destiny “where we can live with dignity and honour as a people by not being subjected to the interest of the dominant community or the communal state government,” the statement said.
The UNC said that the Naga People’s Front will be the ‘bandwagon’ on which the Nagas in Manipur “will face the 10th general election to the Manipur Legislative Assembly.”
“Other political parties which are supportive of the aspirations of the Nagas and have principles and ideology in common with our registered position will also merit the cooperation of Nagas as and where possible,” the UNC added.
