GUWAHATI: The Congress has vowed to safeguard Manipur’s territorial integrity and urge the Centre to repeal the contentious Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), if voted to power in the Northeast state.The demand for the AFSPA’s repeal from the Northeast has become louder in the aftermath of the December 4 killing of civilians in a botched ambush by the Army in Nagaland’s Mon district.
Okram Ibobi Singh’s previous Congress government in Manipur had withdrawn the 1958 law from seven Assembly constituencies. The concern over the state’s territorial integrity stems from insurgent group NSCN-IM’s ‘Greater Nagalim’ demand.
In its election manifesto, the Congress promised to mount pressure on the Centre to resolve all inter-state and India-Myanmar boundary issues. The party made several other commitments. It promised to offer free critical medical treatment for children, compensate the wrongly-detained media persons, adopt a ‘Mountain Economy’ for integrated development of the plain and hill districts, fill in all backlog vacancies for direct recruitment and promotion reserved for STs, among others.
CM files papers
Manipur CM N Biren Singh filed his nomination as BJP candidate on Saturday. He is seeking re-election for the fifth consecutive term from Heingang constituency