Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh made a second sudden trip to New Delhi within a week following calls from Central leaders, amid escalating public pressure demanding that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) be updated before conducting the national Census. Before departing Imphal, Chief Minister Singh issued a strong appeal to all sections of society to refrain from resorting to bandhs and blockades to voice their grievances, emphasizing that such disruptions cause immense hardship to daily wage earners, local women vegetable vendors, and students whose academic calendars are disrupted. While expressing that both the state and Central governments are committed to fulfilling the people’s aspirations, he urged groups to adopt alternate forms of democratic agitation and warned that anyone breaking the law or attempting to create chaos would face stringent action. Addressing his trip, Singh noted he would discuss pressing state issues with top leaders in the national capital and acknowledged that recent campaigns by 14 Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and MLA delegations pushing for the NRC in Delhi had yielded positive responses. His appeal comes directly ahead of a proposed 24-hour statewide general strike called by the Campaign for Just and Fair Delimitation (JFD) from the midnight of August 31 to September 1. The JFD and allied CSOs have threatened to intensify their “No NRC, no census” agitation if the government fails to take concrete steps to update the NRC prior to initiating census operations in the state.
Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Appeals for Peace Amid Escalating NRC Demands
