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, saying it was making efforts to take up the issue with the Centre.

The appeal came 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 government was equally concerned about the demand for NRC updation and the issue of demographic imbalance in Manipur.

He said a team of BJP MLAs from the state would travel to Delhi on Wednesday to raise the demand with the Centre.

“We are taking up the issue for the state. The government is with the people of Manipur and has been pushing for NRC from the very beginning,” Ranjan said.

He pointed to several steps taken by the state government in support of NRC updation. The Manipur Legislative Assembly passed a resolution on the issue on August 5, 2022, and reaffirmed it on March 1, 2024.

The state government also received a letter from the then Union Home Secretary on January 16, 2023, followed by a response from the Registrar General of India. The Manipur Home Department subsequently wrote to the Union Home Secretary on June 12, 2024, seeking action on the matter.

Ranjan said the ongoing strike was affecting ordinary people, particularly daily wage earners and students.

He urged the JFD to withdraw the shutdown and pursue the 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.