GUWAHATI: The BJP-led coalition government in Manipur is taking a series of measures to detect illegal immigrants with Chief Minister N Biren Singh stressing on the need for verification of all non-local settlers in the state.
“The verification of non-locals living in Manipur, including those who are in possession of Aadhar cards, is of utmost importance. The influx of the illegal immigrants will have a serious impact on the local communities which have a small population,” Singh said.
His comments came in the aftermath of the arrest of nine illegal immigrants near the border town of Moreh and Jiribam recently. In neighbouring Assam, tempers are being frayed by Assamese organisations against the Narendra Modi government’s move to pass the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 which seeks to grant citizenship to the non-Muslim immigrants of Bangladesh besides Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Most of the immigrants arrested in Manipur were from Myanmar’s Yangon State and they were carrying forged Aadhar cards and Indian voter IDs. Two persons from Moreh, who had prepared the fake documents, were arrested by the police. The police said the immigrants had plans to go to Chennai by train.
The Chief Minister sought the cooperation of all concerned, including NGOs, house owners and transporters, to help the state government in curbing the menace. Not ruling out the possibility of immigrants flying out of Manipur to various parts of the country, Singh said a police team would keep a sharp eye on passengers at the Imphal airport. He also said that Aadhar cards, outsourced to common service centres, would be done away with.
Singh committed that the state government would strive to pass the Manipur People’s Protection Bill for the protection of the locals. Towards this end, a committee has been already constituted.
Groups and organisations in Manipur have been for long demanding the introduction of Inner Line Permit (ILP), a document which the outsiders will be required to carry to visit the state. The organisations believe ILP would help curb the infiltration of the immigrants. The system has been in place in Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh.