Ibobi questions BJP's unwillingness to conduct census after NRC
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, April 04 2026: Former Chief Minister and Manipur Pradesh Congress Commi-ttee (MPCC) president Okram Ibobi has questioned the BJP Government's disapproval of the popular demand to carry out census operations after identifying illegal immigrants by way of updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and IDPs are resettled at their original places.

Speaking to media persons at Congress Bhavan, BT Road here today, Ibobi warned that conducting census exercise under the cur- rent situation will have far reaching impacts on the delimitation.

Ibobi questions BJP's unwillingness to conduct census after NRC

He said that the census exercise should be carried out across the country every 10 years, and it should be ensured that the data collected from such census exercise are accurate as far as possible.

It is imperative to see that census exercises are carried out in a just and fair manner for the country's planning will be shaped by the census data.

The Congress party has no objection to the census exercise, it is only asking the authorities to see that the census exercise is carried out in a just and fair manner.

Moreover, delimitation will be done based on such data, he said.

During the census exercise of 2001, outrageous abnormal growth rates were detected in some hill areas of the State.

Taking serious note of the gross anomaly in the census data, the then Congress Government raised a strong objection against carrying out delimitation based on the erroneous census data, Ibobi said.

National growth rate at the time did not exceed 28 per cent but some hill areas of Manipur reported growth rates ranging from 160 per cent to 300 per cent, the former Chief Minister said.

Had any delimitation been done based on this census data plagued by gross errors, there could have been serious socio-political unrest in the State, he said.

The State Government raised the matter with the UPA Government at the Centre and made it clear that no delimitation should be carried out in Manipur based on the erroneous census data.

Even an all-party delegation went to Delhi and urged the Central leaders to defer delimitation in Manipur, he said.

Delimitation Commission Chairman Kuldip Singh, while acknowledging the abnormal population growth in some hill areas of Manipur, maintained that delimitation was a Government process and the commission had no authority to defer the same process.

On the suggestion of Kuldip Singh, the State Government lodged a complaint with the Census Directorate.

Subsequently, the State Government took the matter to the High Court and the Supreme Court.

Later the Government of India cut down the growth rates of all those areas which recorded abnormal growth exceeding 300 per cent.

Since then, no delimitation has been carried out in Manipur, he said.

Taking due note of the Government's preparation to start house listing work as a part of the census exercise against the popular demand to defer the whole census exercise until illegal immigrants are identified and all IDPs are resettled, Ibobi questioned the modality under which house listing will be done for thousands of IDPs who have been living in relief camps after their houses were burnt down in the violence which erupted on May 3, 2023 .

There are reports that household plots of a large number of IDPs have been flattened and converted into playgrounds in Churachandpur.

Likewise, all the houses left behind by IDPs at Moreh have been razed to ground, he said.

The MPCC president went on to ask how officials would carry out house listing under such conditions.

He further asked under what modality officials would carry out the census operations when tens of thousands of people have been living in relief camps, away from their villages and homes.

The former Chief Minister questioned how accurate will be the data, if census operations are carried out forcibly under the prevailing situation.

Moreover, a large number of people, fleeing persecution and political unrest in neighbouring Myanmar, have been living in Manipur.

The illegal immigrants who have even set up villages in different parts of the State must be first identified and deported, Ibobi asserted.

In addition, the Government should concentrate on resettlement of IDPs before going ahead with the census operations, he said.

Ibobi urged the Government to first work for resettlement of the IDPs from Churachandpur, Moreh and Kangpokpi.

The MPCC president said that the census exercise will be followed by a delimitation process.

Noting that Lok Sabha Member Dr Bimol Akoijam called for deferment of the census exercise in the Parliament recently, Ibobi said that deferment of the census exercise in Manipur for some time will do no harm to the State Government or the Central Government.

The Congress party is ever prepared if an all-party delegation must go to Delhi and urge the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister to defer the census exercise in Manipur, he said.

The Congress party is of the firm position that the census exercise should be carried out only after all the IDPs are resettled and there is complete normalcy in the State.

Reacting to an assertion made by a BJP MLA that the Congress party and its leader Rahul Gandhi have been opposing updating NRC with respect to Manipur, and the Congress MLAs walked out of the State Assembly while deliberating on adopting a resolution on NRC, the MPCC president claimed that it was the ruling MLAs who rejected a proposal raised by Congress MLAs to adopt a resolution on updating the NRC .

Just days before the particular Assembly session of 2024, a meeting was held at Kangla where the then BJP MP from Inner Manipur PC, Assembly Speaker, Rajya Sabha MP, Ministers and MLAs from both ruling and Opposition parties were present.

The issue of identifying illegal immigrants and NRC too featured at the meeting and a decision was taken on the issue.

During the Assembly session, the Congress party raised a proposal to adopt a resolution in line with the decision taken at the meeting held at Kangla but the ruling MLAs rejected the proposal.

This compelled the five Congress to stage a walk-out, Ibobi said.

Ibobi said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have been making contradictory statements on NRC .

While the Union Home Minister stated that the NRC will be updated throughout the country, Narendra Modi asserted that the Government has not yet considered updating the NRC, Ibobi said.

He asked whether the Prime Minister's statement will hold or the Union Home Minister's assertion should be taken as the truth.

Lok Sabha Member Dr Bimol Akoijam, CWC Member Gaikhangam, MLA K Ranjit, MLA Th Lokeshwar, MLA Okram Surjakumar and many ex-Ministers/MLAs were also present at the press meet.