IMPHAL, March 25 - Democratic Students� Alliance of Manipur (DESAM) has announced a 17-hour Manipur wide general strike beginning midnight of March 25 in protest against the appointment of an alleged �non-indigenous person� as a Parliamentary Secretary by the BJP Government.
Ashab Uddin, the MLA from Jiribam Assembly constituency bordering Silchar, in Assam is a Parliament Secretary in the BJP-led Manipur Government.
The N Biren Singh headed government appointed 12 Parliamentary Secretaries including Ashab Uddin who won Jiribam seat as an independent in the recently held Manipur Assembly polls.
�Induction of Ashab Uddin, a non-Manipuri, in the government is unfortunate,� DESAM secretary general Name-irakpam Edison told a press meet here.
He said DESAM would launch a series of agitations against the move of the new government. �The general strike from midnight of March 25 will end at 5 pm of March 26�, he added.
The student body had earlier on March 14 announced to boycott the Jiribam MLA Ashab Uddin. The All Manipur Muslim Organisations Coordinating Committee had on March 18 decried the DESAM�s stand on the Jiribam MLA.
