Imphal, April 23: Alarmed by the recent agitation over the script switch issue, the Manipur government has decided to consider the views of all communities living in the state before taking a decision.

?The government will take the views of every section of society before introducing the Meitei script to avoid unwanted consequences. The imposition of the script on other ethnic communities without considering their views would hurt their sentiments,? chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh said.

The chief minister was speaking at the Khongjom day function held in Thoubal district today to pay tribute to the Manipuri heroes of the Anglo-Manipuri war of 1891.

?The government is weighing the pros and cons of introducing Meitei Mayek. We will devise a formula acceptable to all ethnic communities of the state with regard to the promotion and development of the indigenous script,? he said.

Several tribal student organisations recently warned the government against taking any hasty decision on the issue and made it clear that they would not accept the imposition of the script on other ethnic groups. They also opposed the move to make the Meitei script compulsory for all students.

Ibobi Singh said though Manipuri was the lingua franca of all communities living in Manipur, the imposition of the script of the majority community on minority groups would create communal tension.

Criticising the pro-Meitei activists for their violence, he said that while his government was in favour of developing the Meitei script, destruction of public property like libraries, where all records and priceless books were kept, would not be tolerated.

Christians unhappy: The government has come under fire from the All-India Christian Council for its ?failure? to protect the rights of the minority Christians in the state, says a staff reporter in Guwahati.

The council?s Northeast chapter in-charge, Madhu Chandra, said in a press statement that the state government had failed to protect the fundamental rights of the minority communities. She cited the recent incident of burning down a church in Thoubal district to substantiate her claim.

She said the council has approached the state governments of the two Christian-dominated neighbouring states ? Mizoram and Nagaland ? to put pressure on the Manipur government to ?render justice to suffering? Christians in the state.

The Building of Believers Church of India was set ablaze at Tenthalamkhai area in Thoubal, about 35 km southeast of Imphal, on Tuesday. Three suspects were held on Friday. The council demanded that the government should ensure punishment to the culprits and justice to the victims. Failing this, the council threatened to take up the matter with higher authorities.