Manipur Government Urges JFD to Withdraw 48-Hour Strike Over NRC Demand
The Manipur government on August 18 appealed to the Campaign for Justice and Fair Delimitation (JFD) to withdraw its 48-hour general strike demanding that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) be updated before the Census.
The government said it was making efforts to take up the NRC issue with the Centre and urged the JFD to pursue its demand through democratic means instead of continuing the shutdown.
The appeal was made during a press conference at the Directorate of Information and Public Relations (DIPR), addressed by Manipur government spokespersons and MLAs Sapam Ranjan Singh and Thokchom Radheshyam Singh.
Sapam Ranjan said the state government was also concerned about the demand for NRC updation and the issue of demographic imbalance in Manipur.
He said a team of BJP MLAs from Manipur would travel to Delhi on Wednesday to raise the NRC demand with the Centre.
The government spokesperson said the state had been supporting the demand for NRC updation and had taken several steps in this regard.
He pointed out that the Manipur Legislative Assembly passed a resolution on NRC updation on August 5, 2022, and reaffirmed the demand on March 1, 2024.
Ranjan also referred to official communications between the state and the Centre, including a letter from the then Union Home Secretary dated January 16, 2023, and a subsequent response from the Registrar General of India. The Manipur Home Department later wrote to the Union Home Secretary on June 12, 2024, seeking further action.
Ranjan said the ongoing shutdown was causing difficulties for ordinary people, particularly daily wage earners and students.
He appealed to the JFD to withdraw the strike and continue raising the NRC demand through other democratic forms of protest.
The JFD’s 48-hour general strike began at midnight on August 18, with the organisation demanding that the NRC be updated before the Census exercise.
