IMPHAL, Nov 15: The Union home ministry has asked the chief minister of Manipur, Okram Ibobi to come to New Delhi on Wednesday for a discussion on the situation in the state, according to a very reliable source in New Delhi.
The source said either the Union home minister P Chidambaran himself, or else one of his trusted emissaries would be meeting with the chief minister on matters related to the burning situation in the state, and in particular the state government`s strategy either to control or else to reach a settlement with the agitators who have virtually paralysed a vital sector of the state administration � education.
Knowledgeable sources in Imphal, although did not give reasons, confirmed the chief minister would be out of station for a trip to New Delhi on Wednesday.
The development is significant in the wake of the possibilities that the state may be forced to declare an academic "zero year" on account of the paralysis of education in the state since September 9 on account of a class boycott stir by three students` bodies, AMSU,MSF and KSA.
The three students` organizations had declared an indefinite class boycott on September 9 in support of the stir by Apunba Lup, a federation of 32 civil society organizations, demanding justice in the July 23 incident in which police commandos eliminated a young man in a fake encounter in broad daylight in the busy Khwairamband Bazar.
The atrocious killing had been exposed by Tehelka weekly which published photographs of the entire sequence of events leading to the fake encounter killing.
Meanwhile sources in Imphal said possibilities for the reallocation of the portfolios within the SPF ministry is on the card following an instructions from the Congress high command to withdraw the portfolios of home and finance from the chief minister O Ibobi Singh recently as a part of strategy of the Congress at the centre to defuse the existing tensions in the state.
According to a highly placed reliable source, the Congress high command has instructed the state chief minister to relinquish the portfolios of home and finance for the second time in view of the existing demands of the Apunba Lup and three students organisations, AMSU, MSF and KSA which have been launching agitations against the state government headed by chief minister O Ibobi Singh in the aftermath of the July 23 BT Road firing incident which claimed the live of one innocent pregnant women Rabina Devi and a former insurgent Sanjit and injuring five others in a broad daylight fake encounter.
The agitating groups are demanding the resignation of chief minister O Ibobi Singh and bringing true justice to the July 23 incident.
The sources further said that the directives of the central Congress high command will be a part of the Congress high command`s strategy to defuse the existing turmoil in the state.
The official source said complying to the directives from the central Congress high command, chief minister O Ibobi Singh met Governor Gurbachan Jagat on November 13 at Raj Bhavan Imphal at about 11.45 am and held discussions.
However, the official outcome of the meeting are still undisclosed.
The official source further said, the central Congress high commands is considering even a spell of animated suspension in the state Assembly if their directives are not accepted by the chief minister.
They further said that, the Congress high command has taken the existing turmoil seriously bombarded as its headquarters are with memorandums from various political parties, NGOs and even from students bodies.
On the other hand as per instructions from the Centre for immediate start of normal functioning of academic session in various educational institutions in the state which remained paralysed since last three months, DGP Manipur Y Joykumar met Governor Gurbachan Jagat at Raj Bhavan Imphal on November 12 during which the deployment of adequate security forces in and around existing educational institutions of the state for enabling the school authorities to resume normal classes was considered, the official source added.