Imphal: Ten Naga legislators of the Manipur Legislative Assembly including two Ministers Wednesday appealed to Chief Minister N Biren Singh to appoint a new Minister for Tribal Affairs and Hills to look after the affairs of the tribals and hills efficiently and effectively.
It may be noted that Letpao Haokip, a Kuki-Zo legislator is officially the current Minister in charge of the Tribal Affairs and Hills of the Government of Manipur. However, he hasn’t been able to execute his official duty due to the current ethnic violence in Manipur.
“As you’re aware of the difficulties faced by the innocent citizens of Manipur due to unrest happening in our State. In this hour of crisis, we would like to appeal to you to kindly look into the matter of the functioning of Tribal Affairs and Hills Department, which has been rendered defunct due to the absence of the Minister of the department for the last ten months,” the ten Naga MLAs said in a letter addressed to the Chief Minister.
This department is becoming more crucial in this hour of crisis to look after the needs and development of tribals and hills areas of the state to bring overall peace and progress in the state, the letter added.
The 60-member Manipur Legislative Assembly has ten legislators each from Kuki and Naga communities.
