On August 29, Manipur Governor summons for session of Assembly

On August 29, the Manipur Governor Anusuiya Uikey has called the Assembly’s monsoon session. This comes a day after the state cabinet, which is presided over by chief minister N Biren Singh, suggested calling a session of the state assembly on Monday.

A notice published on Tuesday stated that ‘the Governor hereby summons the 4th session of the 12th Manipur Legislative Assembly to meet at 11 am, on Tuesday, the 29th of August.’

The Manipur Cabinet had earlier advised the Governor to call a session of the Assembly on August 21. The house did not meet on Monday, nevertheless, due to the Governor’s failure to provide a notification, which presented a problem of sorts.

It happened after eleven Kuki MLAs, representing all political stripes, declared that the ongoing unrest in the northeastern state prevented them from attending the assembly session.

‘For a normal assembly session, a notification has to be issued 15 days before the beginning of it. No such notification has so far been issued by the Governor’s office,’ an official told news agency PTI.

However, the session had been requested by the state administration during a cabinet meeting earlier this month.

‘The state cabinet has recommended to the Hon’ble Governor of Manipur for summoning the 4th session of the 12th Manipur Legislative Assembly on the 21st August, 2023,’ an official statement said on August 4.

Violence broke out in the state in May following the March conclusion of the previous assembly session.

‘The last assembly session was adjourned sine die in March. It is a constitutional obligation that the next session must be held before September 2,’ another official said.

Early in May, after the hill districts held a “Tribal Solidarity March” to protest the Meitei community’s quest for Scheduled Tribe (ST) classification, violence broke out in the state.

Since then, ethnic confrontations in Manipur have resulted in more than 160 deaths and hundreds of injuries.

Tribals, which include the Nagas and Kukis, make up 40% of Manipur’s population and are primarily concentrated in the hill regions, whereas Meiteis make up around 53% of the state’s population and reside primarily in the Imphal Valley.