Manipur CM urges people pray for peaceful solution to Indo-Naga peace talks, says CAA is not anti-Muslim

Pothashang News Service: Imphal, December 21, 2019: Manipur chief minister N. Biren Singh in connection with Indo-Naga peace talks has urged one and all to pray for a peaceful and honourable solution acceptable to all.

Biren was speaking as the chief guest at the Diamond Jubilee Celebration of Namdunlong village in Imphal East district on Saturday.

“As a Manipuri I do not want to see the state getting disintegrated in any manner,” Biren said.

Stating that there is nobody in the world, who has not committed any mistake in his/her lifetime, the chief minister urged the public to adopt the spirit of forgetting past mistakes and forgiving fellow beings so that different communities may reside together harmoniously as in the past.

Saying that conflict and enmity won’t bring anything good, Biren said sacred books of every religion preach people not to harm anybody because life is so precious.

Regarding Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019, the chief minister clarified that the Act is not anti-Muslim, and added that there would be no impact on the citizenship of Muslim brothers and sisters of this country.

The Act simply aspires to provide citizenship to the persecuted minorities coming from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, he added.

As there was apprehension in people’s mind that the State would witness large influx of migrants if CAA is applicable in Manipur, the State Government requested the Centre to include a protection clause for the State, the Chief Minister said. Fortunately, the Centre decided to extend Inner Line Permit (ILP) system to Manipur thereby excluding the state from the purview of the Act, he added.