Push Scheduled Tribe demand to Lok Sabha, MMTU to MP elects

Imphal: Congratulating Congress on its grand success in the Lok Sabha elections in the State, the Meetei/Meitei Tribe Union (MMTU) has urged both Angomcha Bimol Akoijam and Alfred Kanngam S Arthur, MP elects, to help bring an end to the ongoing conflict and push for recognition of Meitei/Meetei community as a Scheduled Tribe.

In a statement released to the media today, MMTU said it has high hopes in both the MP elects and expects them to raise demand for inclusion of the Meitei/Meetei community in the Scheduled Tribe’s list in the Parliament soon.

MMTU said the Centre, without a recommendation from the State Government concerned, has in the past given Scheduled Tribe status to various communities following declarations made by Union Home Minister Amit Shah during election campaigns.

After the Union Home Minister made a declaration on October 4, 2022 in Jammu & Kashmir to include Pahari communities in the ST list, several communities such as Paddari, Koli and Gadda Brahmin were given the ST tag after discussions in Parliament in December 2022, it said.

Recently, during an election campaign, Amit Shah had also announced that discussions were on to recognise 11 Gorkha communities of Darjeeling as Scheduled Tribes.

Judging by this trend, the Centre is indeed able to recognise a community as a Schedule’d Tribe without the recommendation of the State.

The MP elects may bring this up in the coming Parliament sessions for the Centre to give the status to Meiteis/Meeteis even without the recommendations of the Manipur Government, said MMTU.

It recalled and reminded that before the Lok Sabha elections, all the MP candidates except that of the BJP and NPF had given their consent to push for recognition of the indigenous Meitei/Meetei community as a Scheduled Tribe.

It recalled and emphasised that Congress’ late former Chief Minister Rishang Keishing advocated for the Meitei/Meetei community to be included in the ST list and his Government also took a Cabinet decision for the same.

Recently, when the State Assembly was in session, Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president MLA K Meghachandra had declared that the demand for inclusion of the Meitei/Meetei community in the ST list is legitimate and the Congress party supports the demand.

While other Congress leaders including MLA K Ranjit and Th Lokeshwor also voiced their support to the cause, the party reaffirmed its support when MPCC president MLA K Meghachandra signed a consent letter on April 6, 2024, said MMTU.

Further, during recent election campaigns, both candidates of the Congress, Angomcha Bimol Akoijam and Alfred Kanngam S Arthur had declared that the ST demand of the Meitei/Meetei is legitimate and it must be pursued, it added.

Now, both the candidates of the Congress party have been elected as MPs, and as such, they must show their commitment and keep their promises to pursue the issue and give ST status to the Meiteis/Meeteis, said MMTU.