New Delhi: Representatives of several Northeastern organisations on Monday rejected the committee formed by the Centre to suggest remedial measures to address their concerns and also criticized the Delhi government for not following up the promise made by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in this regard.
“The committee formed by the government of India was done without consultation of any civil society group, it consists of only retired bureaucrats, with no women member and hence we reject that committee and call upon its rectification,” D Apao from the Naga Students’ Association told reporters here.
They also flayed the Delhi Government which had put the onus on them to form such a committee at the state level for not following up the announcement made by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
In another development, North East MPs Forum met Prime Minister again and demanded constitution of a judicial commission headed by a Supreme Court Judge on the issue.
It also demanded an all party meeting to discuss the sensitive matter.
“We strongly blame our Central government, Delhi government, Delhi Police and all elected representatives from the northeastern states equally for not adequately looking into discrimination faced by people from those states in the national capital,” said Bina Lakshmi Nepram, founder of the Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network.
She said that though political leaders often come out to sympathise with people from the northeast, nothing concrete is done when they face discrimination.
“Even Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, instead of taking strong action against the accused in the Nido Taniam murder case, has put the onus on us and assured of investigating the matter which has not been done till now,” she said.
Alana Golmei, a founding member of North East Support Centre said, “People argue that there is already the SC/ST Act to safeguard the rights of the people but let me tell you that there are a lot of people who don’t come under SC or ST in the Northeastern states.”
She said the Central government should come up with an anti-racism law so that people from the northeast are insulated from the various types of harassment.
“One should understand that we are Indians and we have the same rights like people from other states,” she said. The anti-racism law will not just protect people from the northeast living in other states from discrimination but also people from other parts of the country living outside their states, she added. (With inputs from agencies)
2 juveniles held for attack on Manipuri youths
New Delhi: Two youths from Manipur were allegedly beaten with sticks in the Ambedkar Nagar area of south Delhi on Sunday night in an incident which further reinforces growing concerns over the safety of people from the northeastern region in the national capital.
Two juveniles were on Monday evening apprehended in connection with the attack, police said. Ginkhansuan Naulak (24) and his cousin Vumsuanmung Naulak (25) were attacked by a group of unidentified bike-borne assailants at around 8:30 P.M. last night.
“While the duo, who had gone to the market tobuy chicken, were returning home, two passers-by called them “Chinki” and “Nepali”. “They confronted them but, after a brief altercation, left the spot. But while they were going home, a group of assailants, including the earlier duo, came on bikes and attacked them with sticks,” said a police official.
They fled the spot after the attack. The injured youths somehow managed to reach AIIMS where Vumsuanmung was discharged after first aid while Ginkhansuan is still undergoing treatment at the Trauma Centre.
“Ginkhansuan suffered a laceration in his left ear and needed stitches… Apart from that, he also has minor bruises all over his body and has complained of stomach ache,” said one of his friends.
Doctors treating him said that his condition is stable. The victims have informed police that the attackers were not known to them. They added that the assailants did not rob anything from them.
A senior police official, meanwhile, said that two juveniles have been apprehended in the case. Police will conduct a test identification parade (TIP) in this regard on Tuesday. They are also looking for any CCTV footage of the area as part of efforts to identify the culprits. (PTI)