Former Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh on Tuesday said he met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi and raised the people’s demand for conducting the National Register of Citizens (NRC) before any census exercise in the state.
Singh, who returned to Imphal after a two-day visit to the national capital, said he also discussed the impact of economic blockades and counter-blockades, which have disrupted supplies of essential commodities and driven up prices.
“I went to Delhi to meet Home Minister Amit Shah and met him yesterday after getting an appointment,” Singh said. He added that Shah had assured him that the issues would be addressed soon.
Singh said he also apprised the Home Minister of the demand for an NRC, which his government had sought in February 2023, before ethnic violence erupted in the state.
According to Singh, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Registrar General had then informed the state government that the request was under consideration. He said people were not opposed to the census but wanted the NRC to be conducted first.
Students demanding implementation of the NRC before the census staged a demonstration outside the Directorate of Census Operations in Imphal on Sunday. Police fired tear gas shells to disperse the protesters.
Hundreds of people in Imphal East and Imphal West also held a torch rally on August 16, calling for the NRC before any census activity to identify alleged illegal immigrants.
Singh said people were concerned that the presence of alleged illegal immigrants had contributed to demographic changes in the state.
He also said there were 926 unrecognised villages according to government records and that people had sought their recognition. Singh said Shah had heard their concerns patiently and expressed hope for a positive response.
The former chief minister also appealed to people not to resort to bandhs or violence out of frustration.
(With inputs from PTI)