A group of students protesting for implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Manipur disrupted a training programme for Census personnel at Moirang College in Bishnupur district on August 14, officials said.
Members of the students’ wing of the Campaign for Just and Fair Delimitation (JFD) entered the college before the scheduled training for enumerators and supervisors could begin. Carrying placards bearing the message “No NRC, No Census”, the protesters allegedly forced the trainees to leave the premises.
Police personnel were deployed at the college to bring the situation under control.
JFD students’ wing convenor Naorem Wangamba said the organisation wanted an NRC exercise to identify alleged illegal immigrants before the Census. He argued that conducting the Census without first carrying out the NRC would not address the group’s concerns.
Wangamba urged the government to consider the demand and halt the Census process until the NRC issue was addressed. The JFD has been seeking an NRC exercise in Manipur ahead of the Census to identify alleged illegal immigrants in the state.
