IMPHAL: Former Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh on Tuesday urged the state home department to share updated information on the biometric enrolment of illegal immigrants to strengthen public confidence and reaffirm the government's commitment to protecting the people.
In a post on X, Singh said, "This is not about politics. It is about national security, safeguarding our borders and protecting the future of our people."
The former CM wrote this a day after the Mizoram government reportedly said that biometric enrolment of Myanmar refugees taking shelter in the state was in its final phase.
He said, "The Mizoram government has demonstrated the importance of vigilance by closely monitoring the influx of illegal immigrants and taking measures to protect the state's interests."
The former chief minister also said, "Similarly, it would be in the public interest for the Manipur Home Department to regularly share updated information on biometric data collected, including the number of individuals identified and verified."
"Such transparency would 'strengthen public confidence' and reaffirm the government's commitment to protecting the state's security and the interests of its indigenous communities", Singh added.
Manipur Home Minister Konthoujam Govindas in August had informed the assembly that 24,475 illegal immigrants from Myanmar had been detected in the state so far.
(With inputs from PTI)