Congress workers demand OMR; arrested, freed
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, January 17 2020: 32 Congress workers, who tried to meet and demand the Chief Minister to implement Optical Mark Reading (OMR) system in the recruitment process of IRB personnel were promptly arrested by police this afternoon.

The protesters who are members of Manipur Pradesh Youth Congress Committee, were later released in the evening.

In a bid to demand the State Government to implement the OMR system during the recruitment process of the IRB personnel, Manipur Pradesh Youth Congress Committee organised a rally from Congress Bhavan to the CM Bungalow today afternoon.

Congress workers demand OMR; arrested, freed

However, a team of Imphal West district police stopped the rally at Kangla Thangapat, near Raj Bhavan and prevented the members from advancing further.

Police even snatched away the placards held by the Congress workers.

The members requested the police to let some of them meet the CM and submit a memorandum.

As such, police guided the protesters to another route while some members, including MPYCC vice-president Ng Dilipkumar Meitei, general secretaries Nunglepam Mahananda and S Johny Meitei and some others, stayed back at Kangla Thangapat.

Speaking to media persons on the sideline of the rally, N Mahananda said that the Congress workers organised the rally in a peaceful way, to meet and demand the CM and the State Government to use OMR system during the IRB recruitment.

He reminded that CM Biren had assured to eradicate corruption, nepotism and favouritism in recruitment, transfer and posting, during the distribution of apparels to police forces at 1st MR on January 13 .

In line with the CM's assurance, Congress party has been only demanding implementation of OMR system to ensure fair and just recruitment process, he claimed.

However, instead of letting the remaining members advance further, they were taken away to another route by the police.

In the meantime, a source from the Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) informed that 32 Congress workers who attempted to meet and submit a memorandum to the Chief Minister had been detained at City PS.

The source further conveyed that MPCC's P Saratchandra, who contested at Heingang A/C against CM N Biren during the election, was also one among the arrested workers.

The arrested workers were later released in the evening.