Ibobi meets Modi, Rajth, demands agreement details

New Delhi, Aug 8: Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh on Saturday demanded details of the ga peace accord signed between the Centre and the NSCN-IM from Home Minister Rajth Singh.

During a meeting with Rajth Singh here, Ibobi Singh said the people of Manipur were anxious to know the details of the ga peace accord and had apprehensions that it would affect the territorial integrity of the state, an official statement said.

R.N. Ravi, the central government's interlocutor for the ga peace talks, was also present at the meeting held at Rajth Singh's residence.

The home minister told Ibobi Singh that the accord was just a framework.

"It would not affect the territorial boundary of the neighbouring states of galand. He (Rajth Singh) further stated that the government of India would invite the state governments for discussion while working out the fil shape of the accord," the statement said.

Ibobi Singh later met Prime Minister rendra Modi at his residence.

Modi assured the Manipur chief minister "that everything would be discussed with the state governments concerned before filisation of the accord".

During both the meetings, Ibobi Singh presented the existing acts -- Manipur (Village Authority in Hill Areas) Act 1956, Manipur Land Revenues and Land Reforms Act 1960, Manipur (Hill Areas) District Council Act 1971, and Manipur Legislative Committee (Hill Areas Committee) Order 1972 -- passed by parliament for administration of hill areas in Manipur, protection of customary laws, legislative protection of the interests of hill areas and prevention of tribal land alietion.

In a joint press conference on Friday here attended by the chief ministers of three Congress-ruled northeastern states -- bam Tuki of Aruchal Pradesh, Tarun Gogoi of Assam, and Ibobi Singh of Manipur -- the Congress charged the Centre with not taking these three states bordering galand into confidence before signing the accord.

All the three states have raised apprehensions about the implications of the accord.

Meanwhile, BJP leader and Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman said galand Chief Minister T.R. Zeliang was kept in the loop and had met Modi two days before the accord was inked.

"The chief minister has been continuously in dialogue with the prime minister and he met him even today (Saturday)," she said.

The tiol Socialist Council of galand (Isak-Muivah) had demanded that ga-inhabited areas of the these three states should be brought within the ambit of a 'Greater galim'.

The Central government and the NSCN-IM on August 3 signed the historic accord that promises to bring peace in the northeastern state ravaged by violence for over six decades. IANS