Imphal, Oct. 21 :     Manipur chief secretary H. Jel Shyam has apologised to chief minister W. Nipamacha Singh for not apprising him on the ?Union territory? issue. Jel Shyam yesterday apologised before the state Cabinet which was specially summoned to discuss the matter. Sources said the chief minister fired the first salvo by asking Jel Shyam whether he was superior to him when a popular government is in the state. Other Cabinet ministers followed suit, grilling the chief secretary on the issue. The anomaly surfaced when the state home department sought certain data on Scheduled Tribe reservation from the higher education department by using a caption ?Creation of Union territory for the tribal people residing in hill areas?. The state home department issued the circular after the Union home ministry passed on a memorandum by the All-Tribal Students? Union, Manipur (ATSUM). The memorandum was submitted to President K.R. Narayanan and the President?s office directed it to the Union home ministry without any comment. As a routine affair, it was forwarded to the Manipur government. After the issue was first picked up by a local daily, the Opposition parties, particularly the Congress, geared up for a showdown with Nipamacha Singh. The party also demanded a clarification from the chief minister. With the Opposition?s pressure mounting and confusion among the public growing, the ruling coalition decided to grill the chief secretary for the unilateral decision. Jel Shyam yesterday told the Cabinet that he never took the memorandum seriously as its demands were unreasonable and unjustified. After the chief secretary said ?sorry?, the Cabinet decided to drop the matter. However, Jel Shyam was warned never to repeat such action in future. Though the matter was apparently a minor one, it exploded because of the prevailing situation. Manipur?s territorial integrity is now a sensitive and emotional issue after the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah) demanded a ?greater Nagaland? which comprises a portion of the state. The Cabinet has also decided to give a strongly-worded reply to the Union home ministry.