NC Hills Dist Council dares CM to prove charge

Guwahati, May 22 : The ASDC-BJP-led NC Hills Autonomous Council (NCHAC) members today brushed aside the allegation of Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi that the Autonomous Council had a nexus with the Jewel Garlosa faction of the Dima Halam Daogah (DHD-J) as ‘false, baseless and concocted.’ The Chief Minister had levelled the above allegation against the Autonomous Council at a press conference here on Tuesday.

The members of the Council also demanded of the State Government steps to address the other crucial issues of the hills district like compensation to the families of those killed in recent violence and for resuming railway services in the hills section and lifting of economic blockade by truckers.

The Council members, including Chief Executive Member Depolal Hojai, described the Congress as the founder of extremism in the hills district. “The Congress is supporting extremism till date.”

The members of the Council also called upon the Chief Minister to state in unambiguous terms in what way the Council was ‘hobnobbing’ with extremist organisations. They also requested him to refrain from making such ‘sweeping’ comments from the secured precincts of Dispur.

The Council members, Kulendra Daulagupu, Mohet Hojai, Prakanta Warisa, Debojit Thaosen and CEM Depolal Hojai regretted the attitude of the Congress Government towards the Council and described it as conspiratorial.

“The comment of the Chief Minister smells of a conspiracy to dislodge the democratically elected ASDC-BJP ruled autonomous council in NC Hills,” said Depolal Hojai.

Condemning the bloodshed and mayhem in the hills district, Hojai said that the State Government instead of blaming the ASDC-BJP coalition should take the initiative to resolve the vexed problem by taking the non-Congress Council into confidence.

Another Council member Debojit Thaosen asserted that the problem in the hills district had worsened because of the dilly dally attitude of the Government. “The Government always resorts to a delaying tactic and that is hampering the peace efforts,” said Thaosen daring the State Government either to finish off the extremists or to resolve the issue through dialogue.

“The Government has deployed 41 companies of security forces in the hills district and regrettably even after such huge presence of security forces, the Government has failed to protect people and projects,” said Thaosen.

The Council members firmly said that extremism in the hills district could not be solved through security forces. “Only through dialogue, the situation could be changed.”

Former Member of Parliament and member of the Council Prakanta Warisa alleged that the Congress was behind the birth of all extremist outfits in the hills district and it is an open secret now.

Mohet Hojai demanded of the State Government steps to hand over law and order either to the Council or to the Central Government. “The Chief Minister should not blame others for his failure,” he said.

Meanwhile, State BJP president Ramen Deka criticized Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi for his ‘frivolous comments’ on the ASDC-BJP-led NC Hills Autonomous Council and described Gogoi’s suggestion for creating a battalion of surrendered militants even after the presence of six thousand security personnel in the hills district as highly ridiculous.

AT

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Farewell to arms in merry bonfire

Worried parents breathe easy as kids’ toy guns go up in flames

Keinou (Bishnupur), May 22 : If Ernest Hemingway’s classic A Farewell to Arms were to be written afresh, this tale from Manipur could very well be the plot of another heartwarming story.

Over a hundred children from Keinou and its neighbouring villages in Manipur’s Bishnupur district today made a bonfire of their toy guns — almost real-looking AK-47s, 9mm pistols, M-16 rifles and machine guns — igniting a novel campaign to stop children from playing with violent toys.

M. Rohit Singh saw his AK-47 go up in flames, but he seemed more relieved than sad. The toy had injured his best friend during the Yaoshang festival in March this year while they were playing a “war game”.

But at the Keinou playground — where the bonfire was lit — most of the happy faces were that of the parents, who decided on the campaign after having to nurse their children with injuries sustained while playing with the toys. The injuries often led to bitter quarrels among the parents.

“Most of the children in our locality and the state these days prefer these toy guns to anything else. Playing with these toys is dangerous as many children sustain injuries,” said a parent, Mangi Leima.

Marjit Khuman, another parent, agreed with Leima. “The bullets could damage the eyes of the children, if hit,” he said.

Some of the guardians said their wards preferred to “shoot” mostly in the “head”. They even spoke of “ambushing” their friends while playing with the toys.

Though no case studies have been done on the effect of the toys on children, the parents were worried about the psychological fallout of these toys on their children. Many of them apparently exhibit an undesirable fascination for weapons.

“We are worried that playing with the toy guns would have a negative impact on the minds of the children when they grow up. Manipur is a place where violence is a daily phenomenon. So we want to keep our children away from the gun culture,” another parent, Rani Devi, said.

The parents, who vowed to keep their children away from toy guns in future, took out a rally to encourage others to follow their example. The children also took part in the rally, with many carrying placards reading “We don’t want guns, we want football”.

Telegraph India

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