Former acting Chairperson of the Manipur Human Rights Commission (MHRC), Khaidem Mani, has criticised the deployment of several MLAs to Delhi to brief the Centre on issues concerning the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and Census, saying elected representatives cannot substitute the state government.
Speaking at a press meet at his residence at Loklaobung today, Mani said the state government should itself formally communicate its position to the Centre if it believes the NRC must precede the Census.
He said the government should write to the Centre, explaining the difficulties in conducting the Census under the prevailing circumstances and seeking an appropriate direction to defer the exercise until the concerns are addressed.
Mani said if the state government genuinely supports the demand for NRC before the Census, it should communicate the position officially rather than relying on MLAs to represent the government in Delhi. He added that ministers or authorised bureaucratic officers should represent the state government before the Centre on official matters.
“MLAs cannot substitute the government,” Mani said, describing the deployment of MLAs to Delhi over the NRC and Census issue as highly objectionable.
On the shortage of judges in the High Court of Manipur, Mani said the situation has adversely affected the justice delivery system. He noted that the High Court, established in 2013 with a sanctioned strength of five judges, currently has only three.
The shortage has resulted in a large number of pending cases, he said, urging the authorities to appoint the required judges without further delay.