Guwahati: The Manipur State Panchayat Parishad (MSPP) organised a sit-in protest and rally on Monday in order to get the money from the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) released promptly.
In addition, the MSPP asked that Manipur hold its sixth general panchayat election and devolve authority to the panchayat.
The MSPP members had also planned to hold a protest rally early today from Panchayat Bhawan in Porompat in Manipur’s Imphal East district.
High security prevented them from carrying out their original intentions; therefore they were forced to shift the location of their protest to the Khurai Chingangbam Leikai Gram Panchayat in Imphal East, Manipur.
The protesters attempted to march towards the Imphal East deputy commissioner’s office while yelling slogans like “Release MGNREGS Pending Money” and “Conduct Panchayat Election on Time,” passing the district SP office in Manipur. But, police officers and the Imphal East SP, who had arrived to take charge of the situation, halted them in their tracks.
They were unable to proceed because of the police, which resulted in a long-lasting altercation between the police and the protestors. Later, the protesters went back to their original protest location at Khurai Chingangbam Leikai, Manipur. They ultimately forced to cease the protest since police were still keeping vigil in the neighbourhood.
Naorem Pradip, one of the protesters, claimed that the agitation was not started solely to condemn the Manipur administration but also to raise awareness of ongoing human rights abuses.
Pradip claimed that despite repeated requests for the Manipuri administration to release the delayed MGNREGS funding, their pleas went unheeded. Meanwhile, the MSPP are still holding protests in Delhi regarding the topic.
Manipur State Panchayat Parishad claims that because the necessary funds have not been released by the relevant authorities, they are unable to pay the salary for job card holders. The Manipur government is yet to release the funding for material costs as well, stated Pradip.
Moreover, he said that the Manipur cabinet had already approved their demands, but the money was never released. Pradip remarked that it is regrettable that the sixth general panchayat elections keep getting pushed back. He added that the Manipur government is required to reveal the precise date of the polls.
It should be noted that the group recently issued a warning that protests will be organised if the Manipur government did not respond to their demands and act as soon as possible.