NPP backs popular demand for NRC
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, August 22 2026:
The National People's Party (NPP) has expressed support to the popular demand for identification of illegal immigrants by way of updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC) before any census operations are initiated.
Speaking to media persons at their Mantripukhri office today, NPP Manipur Unit president Dr Lorho S Pfoze said that the party has already submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi through party president Conrad K Sangma seeking implementation of the NRC before any census or delimitation exercise is carried out in Manipur.
The indigenous people's demand to identify illegal immigrants is also NPP Manipur's demand, he said.
The sharp rise in illegal immigrant population has been posing serious challenges to the demography, electoral representation, security and long term social stability in Manipur.
Highlighting these challenges and threats to the indigenous people, the party has written to the Prime Minister to defer census operations in Manipur until the NRC is updated, Dr Lorho Pfoze said.
Copies of the same memorandum have been submitted to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla, Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand and NPP National president Conrad K Sangma.
NPP Manipur is deeply concerned with the twin issues of NRC and census, and the party will make every effort to safeguard the interest and constitutional rights of the indigenous people of Manipur, he said.
Dr Lorho Pfoze said that NPP Manipur fully supports all the three resolutions adopted by the Manipur Legislative Assembly together with NPP on NRC and census.
He said that the NPP Manipur unit will work in line with the people's pulse and fight for the constitutional rights of indigenous communities.
NPP National vice-president and ex-Minister Irengbam Hemochandra said that NPP has all along been supporting the people's call to first update NRC before commencing any census operations.
Pointing out that tens of thousands of people have been living under miserable conditions after their houses were burnt down in the prolonged violence which erupted on May 3, 2023, Hemochandra said that it would not be right to carry out census operations under the prevailing situation.
Before carrying out any census operations, the Government must focus on resettlement of displaced families and restoration of peace in the State, he said.
The State is currently facing a humanitarian crisis and any census data collected under the prevailing situation will not be complete or error free, Hemochandra added.
The memorandum submitted by the NPP Manipur Unit to the Prime Minister asserted that the issues of NRC, census and delimitation are closely interconnected and must be addressed in a comprehensive and sequential manner, keeping in view the legitimate interests and constitutional rights of the indigenous people of Manipur.
It said that a credible, transparent and properly verified NRC is essential for establishing an authentic register of citizens and for distinguishing genuine citizens from persons who may have entered or settled in the State illegally.
The NPP Manipur Unit urged the Government of India to establish an effective, transparent and time-bound mechanism for the preparation and verification of the NRC in Manipur before the census exercise is undertaken.
It is the legitimate desire of the people of Manipur that the electoral rolls of the State accurately reflect only eligible citizens.
Delimitation based on unverified or potentially distorted population figures could have serious and long-term consequences for the political representation of the indigenous people of Manipur, said the memorandum.
It categorically stated that the delimitation exercise in Manipur must be undertaken only after the completion of the NRC and a thorough verification and updating of the electoral rolls.
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