Table HAC's ADC Bill in Assembly : ATSUM

Newmai News Network
IMPHAL, Apr 13: Tribal student bodies have demanded the tabling of the Hill Areas Committee (HAC) recommended Autonomous District Council (ADC) Bill 2021 in the Manipur Legislative Assembly as soon as possible.
The resolution was taken at a consultative meeting of the All Tribal Students' Union, Manipur (ATSUM), Kuki Students' Organisation-General Headquarters (KSO-GHQ), All Naga Students' Association, Manipur (ANSAM) and senior ATSUM leaders held today at Amity Hall, Adimjati Complex.
The meeting also resolved that ADC election should not be conducted without first giving empowerment to ADC within the ambit of the Indian Constitution.
The meeting which was attended by the executives of the three apex tribal student bodies and their senior leaders thoroughly deliberated on the ADC Bill movement spearheaded by ATSUM.
ATSUM also expressed its deep dissatisfaction with the previous Government which had failed to table the Bill despite inking an agreement with the three tribal student bodies.
On November 25 last year, the three student bodies had signed an agreement with the Government in which the State Government had given its assurance for tabling the Bill in the winter session of Manipur Legislative Assembly on the condition that  ATSUM suspends its agitation. ATSUM alleged that they had kept their side of the agreement, but the Bill was never tabled in the Winter Session.
"Now, it is the aspiration and expectation of the tribal people that the HAC recommended Bill 2021 is tabled in the Assembly at the soonest time possible," the tribal student body added.
ATSUM said that it had always demanded the timely conduct of the ADC election in the past and had even launched agitations to pressurise the Government. "But the Government on one pretext or another had delayed it. However, when all the tribal people of the State decided to strengthen and empower the ADC by supporting HAC recommended ADC Bill 2021, the Government seemed very eager to conduct ADC election," ATSUM also said.
"In fact, this is ironic. It is well understood that an ADC election without strengthening the ADC is just mockery and an eyewash," the apex tribal student body of Manipur further said. Therefore, ATSUM said that if the Government is really concerned with empowering and strengthening the ADC then it has to conduct the election after the HAC recommended ADC Bill is introduced in the Assembly. "Only then the good intention of the Government can be validated," ATSUM added.