Guwahati, June 26 -- Former Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh has raised serious concerns over what he describes as a "manipulated version" of a central legal order governing the state's hill areas.

In a letter addressed to Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla on Wednesday, Singh alleged that discrepancies between the Gazette of India and the Manipur Legislative Assembly's rules could have far-reaching implications for the governance of hill regions.

Singh compared the original 1972 Hill Areas Committee Order, passed by Parliament and published in the Gazette, with the version currently included in the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of the Manipur Assembly.

He highlighted a critical change in phrasing, where the Gazette uses the ...