Newmai News Network Imphal | April 30 Student organisations from the hills and the valley districts of Manipur are all prepared to start intense forms of agitation from May 2 as their demand was not met by the State Government of Manipur. Democratic Students’ Alliance of Manipur (DESAM), All Tribal Students’ Union, Manipur (ATSUM), and Apunba Ireipakki Maheiroi Sinpanglup (AIMS) had asked the State Government of Manipur “to revoke its decision of appointing a non-local as the Chief Secretary” of Manipur by April 30. “So far nothing has come forth from the State Government till now in this regard,” said some student leaders tonight. Earlier, the three student organizations had threatened to launch “intense agitations” from May 1. “Being the May Day (Tuesday) we have decided to start from May 2,” the student leaders added. “We have set to start stern forms of agitation and we may extend our agitation even by imposing indefinite economic blockade,” they cautioned, adding “The BJP Government is resorting to neo-colonialism by ignoring the native people.” On April 17, thousands of students, both from the hill districts and valley districts of Manipur, had carried out a protest rally in the streets of Imphal demanding the appointment of ‘native IAS officer as Chief Secretary of Manipur’. The student bodies had also submitted a joint memorandum to the Chief Minister urging upon the State Government to consider their demand “in the right earnest in the larger interest of all communities living in the state of Manipur”. “The All Tribal Students’ Union (ATSUM), Democratic Students’ Alliance of Manipur (DESAM) and Apunba Ireipakki Maheiroi Sinpanglup (AIMS) would like to state the fact that there have been several unfair, discriminatory and hurtful decisions taken by the government in the recent past and in doing so a deep chasm of social uneasiness was created between the valley and the hill people,” that memorandum said. Earlier on April 7, the student organizations had staged sit-in protest at Chingmeirong in Imphal against the State Government of Manipur for its “failure to appoint deserving senior most local IAS officer” as Chief Secretary of Manipur.
