Newmai News Network Imphal | July 24 The Joint Tribal Student Bodies of Manipur (JTSBM) has suspended the indefinite hill area bandh. The JTSBM said that their suspension of bandh is because it is considering the hardships faced by the general public due to bandh. The bandh began at 6 am of July 23 in protest against the prolonged closure of Manipur University (MU). However, the JTSBM said its agitation with blockade on national highways - Jiribam-Imphal, Moreh-Imphal and Dimapur-Imphal, will continue. The JTSBM claimed today "the overwhelming support extended by the tribal people to today’s bandh in hill areas of Manipur is a clear indication of the tribal people’s disapproval to the prolonged closure of the Manipur University (MU) and the demand for removal of the vice chancellor, Prof AP Pandey. "It is also a clear indication of the people’s disapproval to the government’s handling of violence and terror on innocent children, student leaders and civilians by armed militants. The government must now listen to the people’s voice and act accordingly," the JTSBM added. "While we welcoming the decision to appoint a pro vice chancellor to assist the Vice Chancellor (VC), we denounce the decision of the all political parties meeting led by the chief minister on July 22 that the VC of Manipur University (MU) “be asked to proceed on leave pending the proceedings of the Fact Finding Committee,” the JTSBM stated. It then urged the political parties to reconsider their decision in view of the many tasks and work pending in the university as a result of the prolonged closure. The JTSBM said that, to force or let the VC go on leave after the prolonged closure of MU will only lead to many problems in relation to administration, admissions, declaration of results, examinations and other matters. "Moreover, we are not confident that reservation policy in recruitment and student admissions will be followed according to guidelines in the absence of Prof AP Pandey, who has shown to be a man of high integrity and efficiency with a sense of justice and strong commitment to implement reservation policy as per guidelines without any manipulation or prejudice in any manner," the JTSBM said. It then said that, besides investigating into the allegations of MUSU and MUTA against the VC, the 'fact finding committee' should also investigate into the origin and real cause of the agitation. "It should also investigate if there is any ulterior motive behind the agitation or if it is motivated by some vested interests either from within or outside the university," the JTSBM added. The JTSBM also expressed resentment with the State government and authorities concerned for not taking up any action against the "violent Kuki Student Organisation (KSO) activists who intimidated and assaulted peaceful protesters and student leaders on July 6 at Churachandpur and the perpetrators of the July 13 Moreh terror attack on innocent children and civilians."
