Imphal, Jan. 31: Union labour minister Oscar Fernandez said today that the Centre would go ahead with the controversial Tipaimukh project if the state government decides to implement it.

The Rs 8,000-crore Tipai-mukh project in Manipur’s Churachandpur district is one of the main issues in the Manipur Assembly elections. “The Centre is focusing on improving power and water resources in Manipur. The Centre is also concerned about agriculture as Manipur’s economy is based on it,” Fernandez said.

The minister stopped short of welcoming the United Naga Council’s (UNC) foray into electoral politics in the February elections. “Elections are a democratic process. Any individual or group wanting to contest cannot be stopped,” Fernandes told mediapersons at an election rally in Imphal West district today. The UNC, the apex body of Naga tribals in Manipur, has fielded six Independent candidates for the Assembly constituencies against the ruling Congress in Senapati and Ukhrul districts, which will vote in the first phase on February 8.

The Naga apex body intends to further the campaign to bring all Naga-inhabited areas under one administrative unit. The council’s candidates were selected from among those who took an undertaking that they would work for Naga integration.

During his earlier visit to Imphal, Fernandez had tried to play down the alleged diktat issued by the council to Naga political leaders to extend support to UNC-sponsored candidates. He said the state government and Election Commission had taken adequate security measures to set the minds of the voters at rest.

“It is upto the people either to buckle under pressure or come out and cast their votes,” he said. On the ongoing peace process, Fernandez expressed the hope that a solution could be arrived at. “The talks would be resumed after the Manipur polls. We hope that a solution could be brought out. But it will take time,” he said.

However, New Delhi’s chief negotiator did not reply directly to the question on whether the issue of “Greater Nagalim” was on the agenda.