General strike cripples normalcy; CM refutes DESAM

Seventeen hours general strike imposed by Democratic Students’ Alliance Manipur has affected normalcy in Imphal with closure of business establishments and transport services while chief minister Nongthombam Biren Singh refuted the demand of the student body as unreasonable.
DESAM imposed the general strike since yesterday midnight protesting against allocation of portfolio of parliamentary secretary (Minority and MOBC, commerce and industries) to Jiribam representative Ashab Uddin. The student body demanded to withdraw the portfolio from the Jiribam representative and opposed against the alleged inclusion of a non-indigenous people of the state in the state government formation.
Chief minister Biren Singh said, “Ashab won the assembly election and also contested twice in panchayat elections. He is the citizen of India and Manipur. People have elected him, what shall I do?”
Biren was at the airport to leave for Delhi, today.