Imphal, Sep 13 (IANS) The Manipur government on Sunday urged Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to withdraw their ongoing agitations, including the closure of Central and state government offices, over their demand for updation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state.
State government spokespersons Thokchom Radheshyam Singh and Sapam Ranjan Singh, both ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs, said that the closure of Central and state government offices as part of the agitations by CSOs, including the Campaign for Justice and Fair Delimitation (CJFD), was causing suffering and inconvenience to the general public.
They appealed to all concerned not to add more misery to the sufferings and inconveniences of the public.
Addressing a press conference, Radheshyam Singh said that the state government is fully aware of the CJFD’s demand and the people of Manipur also want the NRC be conducted before the Census-2027.
He added that the recently held session of the Manipur Assembly reaffirmed its earlier resolution to update the NRC before the Census-2027, and Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh has conveyed the same to the Central government.
Radheshyam Singh added that on the last day of the recently-concluded Assembly session, a discussion regarding the base year of the NRC with 1951 took place in the House and the matter has already been conveyed to the Union Home Ministry.
He said that following the campaign by the members of the Manipur Assembly in New Delhi, the Chief Minister, too, conveyed the Central leaders about the people’s desire.
Consequently, the Union Home Ministry has also postponed the Census process, the spokesman said.
Against this backdrop, the CJFD has intensified its agitation by calling for the closure of government offices.
Such an agitation may lead to various undesirable incidents and affect the functioning of the state government, he added.
Radheshyam Singh also appealed to the CJFD not to intensify the agitation and also urged the organisations not to continue such activities for a prolonged period, as protracted agitation in the state could cause greater inconvenience to the people.
He appealed all the sections of the public “to give peace a chance in Manipur” and to support the endeavours of the current government in restoring normalcy in the state.
The spokespersons also made it clear during the press meet that state Home Minister Konthoujam Govindas Singh along with some other MLAs are camping in New Delhi for the past few days to pressurise the Centre regarding the updation of NRC, 1951.
They also expressed that it is highly hopeful that Centre will act as per the wishes of the people of the state.
Meanwhile, the State Assembly’s latest move on September 2 came amid massive agitations by various CSOs, mainly in the five districts of the Imphal Valley region — Imphal East, Imphal West, Thoubal, Bishnupur and Kakching — demanding the updation of the NRC before the conduct of Census-2027.
The CJFD and various other CSOs have been holding massive agitations in the Imphal Valley region since August 17, demanding the updation of the NRC before the Census exercise is undertaken.
A day before its pre-schedule start, the Central government on August 31 announced to defer the Census-2027 exercise in Manipur amid continuing protests and demands by various CSOs for the updation of the NRC before the conduct of the Census-2027 in the state.
Meanwhile, the Kuki-Zo Council (KZC), the apex body of the Kuki-Zo tribal community in Manipur, has opposed the demand for the updation of the NRC before the Census operations in 2027.
KZC Spokesperson Ginza Vualzong had said that there is no constitutional provision for conducting an NRC exercise exclusively in a particular state.
“The NRC is a national exercise. The Assam NRC was undertaken pursuant to the Assam Accord of 1985. Therefore, any attempt to conduct an NRC exclusively in Manipur is not only discriminatory but also unconstitutional,” he added.
–IANS
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