Imphal: A large number of women staged a torch rally in Khurai area of Imphal East on Saturday night, demanding that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) be updated before the Census is conducted in Manipur.
Women from several areas under Khurai Assembly constituency gathered at Lamlong Bazaar and marched through Tellipati before returning to Lamlong. Protesters raised slogans against conducting the Census without prior NRC updation and called for measures to prevent the entry of alleged illegal immigrants into the state.
The protesters also criticised political leaders over what they described as inaction on the NRC issue.
The rally was organised as part of the ongoing agitation by the Campaign for Just and Fair Delimitation (JFD), which has been demanding NRC updation ahead of the Census. The organisation recently called a 48-hour general strike over the issue.
JFD has announced further protests, including nightly torch rallies, and called for a boycott of state and Central government offices, with exemptions for essential services such as health, education, water supply and electricity.
