The All Manipur Muslim Organisations' Coordinating Committee (AMMOCOC) has urged the state government for inclusion of a Meitei-Pangal MLA as a cabinet minister, in the larger interest of the state and Meitei-Pangals (Muslims in Manipur), in particular.
The present government since its inception has not had any representation from the Meitei-Pangal community in its cabinet ministers for reasons best known to the government, said AMMOCOC president SM Jalal while speaking to the media on Wednesday at the AMMOCOC’s Hatta office in Imphal.
Jalal said that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and other pending development works are not being adequately addressed to the minorities because of the lack of a Meitei-Pangal representation in the state cabinet.
Moreover there are many issues which have remained in the memory of the community as predicaments of being unrepresented, he added.
Pointing out that there are three MLAs present in the state Assembly, Jalal said that the government is at liberty to accommodate one of them as a cabinet minister for reigning in the apprehensions and concerns of the Meitei-Pangal community.
Lauding the state government for tabling the demands for four per cent reservation for Meitei-Pangal in higher education, in the state cabinet, he said the Meitei-Pangal has high hope that the government will fulfil their demands.
He appealed to the government to include a Meitei-Pangal member in any committee set up for reservation-related issues.