Manipurs' best interests to be safeguarded in taking a call on bills: Centre

New Delhi: Government on Monday said it will ensure that "best interests" of all sections of Manipuri people are taken into account before taking a final decision on three important bills sent to it by the state legislature.

The three bills sent to the Union Home Ministry for Presidential assent are "The Protection of Manipur People Bill, 2015", "The Manipur Land Revenue and Land Reforms (Seventh Amendment Bill), 2015" and "The Manipur Shops and Establishments (Second Amendment Bill) 2015".

"The Ministry of Home Affairs will consult all stakeholders including the state government, hill and the valley people and other interested parties on the issue before arriving at any decision in the course of examination of the Bills. It will be the endeavour of the Ministry to address the issue in the best interests of all sections of the population of Manipur," the Ministry said in a statement today.

It said delegations from Manipur under the aegis of Joint Action Committee (JAC), All Tribals Students' Union of Manipur (ATSUM) and Manipur Tribal's Forum, Delhi (MTFD) have met Home Minister Rajnath Singh and other officials of the Ministry with their concerns over these three Bills.

These three Bills are being opposed by some sections of Manipur population who have been agitating over the issue for the last two months.

Nine people have died during this agitation and their last rites have not been conducted till now, it said.