NRC not full proof solution: Khaidem Mani
Source: Chronicle News Service
Imphal, February 24 2024:
While implementation of the National register of Citizens (NRC) in Manipur may ndt solved the illegal immigrant issues faced by Manipur entirely, Taragi-Cheisu chairman Khaidem Mani said that the implementation of the same by fixing an exact base year, would, to a certain extent, play an important role in solving the issue.
A one-day consultation programme on "Understanding the NRQ-What it means for Manipur" was organised by Taragi Cheisu at the Sangai Hall of Imphal Hotel in Kabo Leikai on Saturday.
Speaking on the occasion, Mani observed that the violence has been raging on for the past 10 months, adding that any peace or normalcy still remains a far-fetch dream.
He added that the close linkage between the conflict and the issue of illegal immigration is known to all.
As such, the people have been making various demands including implementation of NRC to put an end to the illegal immigration issue, he stated.
The senior advocate continued that while NRC is yet to be implemented in all the states, Assam began the first to implement the same with 1971 as the base year.
In Manipur, it is the wish of the people to implement the same and deport all illegal immigrants from the state.
However, people have a vague understanding of how NRC is to be implemented, the processes involved and other details.
Mani explained that NRC alone cannot solve the issue of illegal immigration.
The government's recent scrapping of Free Movement Regime (FMR) and fencing of Indo-Myanmar border would collectively assist in resolving the issue.
However, all of these alone cannot put an end to the issue at hand.
On top of these, there is need to fix an exact base year for the implementation to identify who are the citizens and who are the illegal immigrants, with the former being granted a pass through under ILPS regulation and the latter deported to their respective countries.
This is not easy to put into practice and understandably, a lot of loopholes will come into existence.
As such, the consultation was held to discern on the measures beforehand to solve these loopholes.
The feedback collected during the programme will be published in a booklet to provide an opportunity for all to thoroughly understand NRC, he conveyed.
Taragi Cheisu general secretary Dr.Dhakeshwar Singh Potsangbam said that while implementation of NRC is the need of the hour, it would not be easy to put it into practice.
The government will leave a lot of loopholes while implementing the same, especially as the basis would on the census report.
The question would be whether the government had properly maintained the census record or not.
He questioned whether mere implementation of NRC would guarantee all the illegal immigrants would be identified and deported, leaving none behind.
This is an almost impossible feat to achieve, as shown by the difficulties Assam has been facing after NRC implementation.
Thus, there is need to make preparations beforehand to prevent such issues in Manipur, in addition to discussing with the people in detail, he said.
During the technical session, which was moderated by Taragi Cheisu co chairman Dr Rk Nimai, RIMS Department of Biostatistics former head Prof Dr Rk Narendra Singh, Taragi Cheisu executive member and senior journalist Pradip Phanjoubam; Gauhati High Court, Assam advocate Santanu Borthakur and senior journalist from Assam, Rajeev Bhattacharya spoke as resource persons.
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