Manipur NRC row: JFD announces boycott of government offices from August 20

The campaign for Just and Fair Delimitation (JFD) has announced a boycott of all state and central government offices in Manipur from August 20 as part of its ongoing agitation demanding updation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) before the Census.

The announcement was made at a press conference held at the JFD office in Wangkhei, Imphal East, on Wednesday.

JFD convenor Jeetendra Ningomba said the 48-hour general strike called by the organisation from midnight of August 17 would conclude at midnight on August 19-20. However, he said the agitation would continue in different forms until the demand for NRC updation before the Census is addressed.

Under the next phase of the agitation, the organisation will boycott all state and central government offices from August 20. However, health, education, electricity and water supply services will remain outside the purview of the boycott, Ningomba said.

The JFD also announced plans for other forms of democratic protest at regular intervals. Ningomba urged people across the state to organise torch rallies every night and hold protest meetings and awareness programmes on NRC, delimitation and the Census.

He also appealed to local clubs and Meira Paibi groups to take the initiative to meet their respective MLAs and seek clarity on their positions regarding the demand for NRC updation.

Reacting to reports that NDA legislators from Manipur would visit Delhi to seek support for NRC updation, Ningomba said the organisation had learnt about the proposed visit through the media.

He questioned the lack of clarity over whom the legislators intended to meet, where the meetings would be held and what issues would be discussed. He said the JFD would have been more satisfied if the state government had taken a formal Cabinet decision and approached central leaders with a written proposal seeking their intervention.

Ningomba appealed to people from all sections of society to extend their support to the campaign, asserting that the agitation would continue until the demand is fulfilled.

He also thanked the people of Manipur for their support in making the 48-hour general strike successful.

The JFD's latest announcement comes as the organisation steps up its agitation over its demand that NRC updation be completed before the Census, with the issue of delimitation also forming a central part of its campaign.