Inner Manipur Lok Sabha MP Angomcha Bimol Akoijam has sought a response from the Union Home Ministry on issues he raised in Parliament regarding the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement with Kuki armed groups, while questioning the preparedness of the Manipur Government for a proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise.
Addressing a press conference on Thursday evening at his residence at Keishamthong, Akoijam said he had raised the SoO issue under Rule 377 of the Lok Sabha on August 11 after submitting notice to the Speaker on August 7. He said he had sought details of the terms and conditions of the agreement and compliance with its ground rules, including whether compliance reports were being maintained.
Bimol said he had also raised allegations of extortion and other criminal activities involving groups under the SoO arrangement and cited the killing of six Liangmai civilians. He had urged the Union Government to review the agreement and consider ending it if violations by signatory groups were established.
He said the Ministry was expected to respond within a month under parliamentary procedure but had not done so. He has consequently written to the Lok Sabha Speaker seeking that the concerned Ministry be asked to respond.
On the NRC, Akoijam questioned the functioning of the Manipur State Population Commission, which, he said, was constituted in 2023 but has been functioning without a chairperson. He also questioned the availability of in-house experts and said the commission had held only two consultative meetings in three years.
Bimol maintained that a credible citizenship-verification exercise should precede census and delimitation in Manipur. He said the State’s continuing displacement and law-and-order problems could affect the accuracy of population enumeration. He had raised a similar matter in the Lok Sabha on March 30, urging verification of illegal immigrants before census and delimitation.
He also raised questions over records relating to the 1951 NRC in Manipur and said responses obtained through RTI had created uncertainty over the availability of such records. Earlier reports have noted differing claims concerning the historical status of NRC-related documents in the State.
Bimol said any NRC exercise in Manipur should distinguish citizens from non-citizens through a lawful and transparent process and should not be used to target any particular community.
On the prevailing violence in the State, he called for effective enforcement of law and order and protection of citizens’ rights, including freedom of movement and return to their homes.
He said the issues of SoO, citizenship verification, census and law and order should be addressed through institutional mechanisms and due process rather than political one-upmanship.
