Manipur Congress president and former Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh today said the Centre could implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state within two to three months if it had the commitment and determination to do so.
Speaking to the media at Congress Bhawan, Imphal, in connection with the observance of Sadbhavna Diwas to mark the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, Ibobi said the NRC should be updated before the conduct of Census 2027 in Manipur.
“If the Central government wants, the implementation of NRC in Manipur is not an issue,” Ibobi said, adding that the NRC should be updated first before the Census is conducted. He also said the Constitution could be amended, if necessary, to facilitate the process.
The former Chief Minister said the state’s small geographical size should make the exercise manageable if the Union government was determined and committed.
“Be it NRC or any other issue, it is only a matter of two-three months to resolve it,” he said.
Ibobi said the issue was not the complexity of the exercise but what he described as the Centre’s failure to take into account the wishes of the people of Manipur.
Questioning the feasibility of conducting the Houselisting and Housing Census amid the continuing displacement caused by the ethnic conflict, he asked how houses destroyed during the violence would be accounted for in the house-listing exercise.
He also questioned how the government would account for the more than 60,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) currently residing in relief camps while conducting the Census.
Meanwhile, representatives of several civil society organisations from Manipur left for New Delhi on Thursday to meet Union ministers and BJP leaders and press their demand for updating the NRC before the conduct of Census 2027 in the state.
Earlier in the day, Ibobi, along with Congress leaders, paid floral tribute at Congress Bhawan, Imphal, in observance of Sadbhavna Diwas marking the birth anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi.
