IMPHAL, AUG 19:
The Congress on Wednesday said the Manipur government must prioritise the resettlement of internally displaced people and restoration of normalcy in the strife-torn state before the census exercise.
Addressing a press conference here, state Congress president and former chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh questioned how the house listing would be conducted when displaced people are staying at relief camps.
In Manipur, more than 260 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic strife between Meiteis and Kuki-Zo groups since May 2023.
“Not less than 60,000 internally displaced people are staying in different relief camps in both hill and valley areas. The majority of their homes have been demolished. So how will house-listing of such people be conducted? The Centre also needs to know this. The state government must apprise the Centre of such problems,” he said.
People belonging to one community cannot enter into localities where citizens of another community have a majority in several districts, he said.
“Under such prevailing situations, how will a proper census and house listing be conducted? Let displaced people first return to their native places, and till then, census should be deferred by the Centre,” the three-time CM said.
Emphasising that the situation of Manipur is different from other states, the Congress leader said, “The government must prioritise the resettlement of internally displaced people and restoration of normalcy before undertaking the census. Efforts should be made to ensure people belonging to various communities move freely across districts.”
On illegal immigrants, he said, “There may be a presence of such people. But their presence is not just in Manipur but in Nagaland and Mizoram as these states share international border.” The self-enumeration phase of Census 2027 was scheduled to begin on August 17. The main house-listing operation will start from September 1 to September 30 this year.
Students, demanding implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Manipur before the census, staged a demonstration outside the Directorate of Census Operations in Imphal on Sunday, prompting the police to fire tear gas shells to disperse them.
Hundreds of protesters in Imphal East and Imphal West districts also held a torch rally on August 16 evening, demanding implementation of the NRC before any census activity in the state to identify illegal immigrants. (Source: PTI)
