The Union government on Monday deferred the census operations in Manipur, considering the demand by civil society organisations for updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC) before conducting the exercise, an official statement said. The development came a day before house listing of the census exercise is scheduled to begin in the state from September 1.
The decision to put the operation on hold came after Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired a high-level review meeting in New Delhi to assess the current situation in Manipur, according to a statement from the Chief Minister’s Secretariat.
The demand raised by the people of Manipur to defer the census exercise in the state before the implementation of the NRC was discussed in the meeting, the statement said.
“The meeting agreed to defer the proposed Census exercise in the state considering the feelings and aspirations of the people of Manipur,” it said.
Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla, Chief Minister Y Khemchand Singh, Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan and other senior officials attended the meeting.
Singh expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for listening to the voices of the people and fulfilling the aspirations of the people of the state. He also thanked BJP president Nitin Nabin for his continuous support in fulfilling the wishes of the people of Manipur, according to the statement.
He also appreciated the efforts of the leaders of 14 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and the delegation of BJP MLAs, who had recently campaigned in New Delhi for the implementation of the NRC in Manipur.
