Women vendors of Khwairamband Keithel have announced that they will intensify their ongoing agitation, including continuing their protest through the night, until the Government of India and the Manipur government issue a formal order stating that the Census will be conducted in the State only after the National Register of Citizens (NRC) is updated.
Raising the slogans “No NRC, No Census” and “No IDP Settlement, No Census,” the women vendors joined the 24-hour general strike called by the Campaign for Just and Fair Delimitation (JFD) and staged a sit-in protest at Nupi Keithel on Tuesday.
Speaking to the media during the protest, Khwairamband Keithel Ima Thingujam Rani said the women vendors would continue their agitation until the government issued a written order clarifying its position on the Census and NRC.
She said the demand for updating the NRC before conducting the Census has emerged as a major issue in the State. While the Manipur government has reportedly announced that the Census exercise has been halted, the absence of a formal written order has created confusion and uncertainty among the people, she said.
Thingujam Rani further said that even if the government maintains that the Census has been halted in connection with a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) before the Manipur High Court, apprehension remains among the people as the next hearing is scheduled for October 12.
“If the government decides to resume the Census exercise after the hearing, people will once again be forced to launch protests,” she said.
She stressed that a verbal announcement that the Census has been halted would not be sufficient, and demanded a clear government order stating that the Census would be conducted only after the NRC is updated in Manipur.
Thingujam Rani also alleged that a large number of people who entered the State from outside have settled in different areas without proper verification. Questioning the basis for conducting the Census without first verifying their identities, she asked whether individuals whose citizenship status has not been established could be included in the exercise.
The women vendors reiterated their demand for a formal written order on NRC updation before the Census. Thingujam Rani said they would continue their agitation, including holding an overnight protest, until the government issued such an order.
