The Manipur government will send a delegation of MLAs to New Delhi to urge the Centre to take up the implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state, as demands intensify for the exercise to be completed before the Census and delimitation processes.
The decision was announced on Tuesday, coinciding with the beginning of a two-day general strike called by the civil society and student-led Campaign for Just and Free Delimitation. The group is demanding that the NRC be implemented before any Census or delimitation exercise is undertaken in Manipur.
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The demand has also found support from the United Naga Council (UNC), the apex Naga organisation in the state. The UNC has reiterated that the Census and delimitation exercises should not be carried out in Manipur until the NRC is implemented.
The UNC said the position had already been conveyed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi through a joint memorandum submitted on May 3, 2024, along with the Meitei organisation Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI).
Govt reiterates stand on NRC
Manipur government spokesperson and MLA Dr Sapam Ranjan Singh said the state government remained serious about concerns surrounding the NRC and Census.
Addressing reporters, Singh said the government continued to support the demand for an NRC in Manipur amid concerns over demographic changes and alleged illegal migration.
He pointed out that the Manipur Assembly had already passed a resolution on August 5, 2022, calling for the NRC to be taken up in the state. Since then, the government has continued to raise the matter with the Ministry of Home Affairs through official correspondence, he said.
Singh said the proposed team of MLAs would travel to Delhi to seek the Centre’s guidance and press for action on the NRC issue.
He also called for a united approach to the matter, saying the issue should be addressed beyond political affiliations, community differences and other divisions as it concerns the future of Manipur and its people.
Former CM takes up issue with Amit Shah
Former Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh said he had also informed Union Home Minister Amit Shah about the ongoing bandh, strike and agitation linked to the NRC demand.
Biren Singh expressed hope that the Centre would respond positively to the concerns being raised in the state.
“I believe that the Home Minister will take some positive action,” he told reporters.
With the two-day strike underway and support for the NRC demand coming from multiple organisations, the issue has once again emerged as a major point of discussion in Manipur ahead of the proposed Census and delimitation exercises.
(Inputs from The Indian Express)
Edited by: Moonmoon Borah
