Manipur Chief Minister Y Khemchand Singh said on Wednesday that the Centre had deferred the Census exercise in the state after considering public concerns and the demand for an updated National Register of Citizens (NRC).
Speaking during the opening day of the eighth session of the Manipur Assembly, Singh said the state government had repeatedly urged the Centre to conduct the NRC before the Census.
He said the Assembly first adopted a resolution seeking an NRC in August 2022, when N Biren Singh was Chief Minister, and the decision was conveyed to the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2023. The demand was reiterated during the 2024 Assembly session and the resolution was again forwarded to the Home Ministry.
Singh said the state Home Department organised a two-day seminar in August this year after President’s Rule was imposed and the present government took office. The seminar concluded that the NRC should precede the Census, he said.
The Chief Minister said these developments and public grievances were subsequently brought to the attention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and other senior leaders.
“The Census was deferred in accordance with the wishes of the people,” Singh told the Assembly.
Responding to questions over the absence of a formal order, Singh said he and Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla had attended a meeting chaired by Shah in New Delhi where the decision was taken.
The Chief Minister’s Secretariat had announced on August 31 that the Census exercise in Manipur had been deferred following a high-level review meeting chaired by Shah. The decision came amid protests demanding that the NRC be updated before the Census.
