Congress Seeks Census Postponement in Manipur

New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday demanded that the Census exercise in Manipur be immediately postponed in view of the violence and displacement in the state over the last three years.

Inner Manipur MP Prof A Bimol Akoijam said conducting the exercise under the prevailing circumstances would be an injustice to the people.

Addressing a press conference at the Congress office here, Akoijam said around 60,000 people remained homeless due to the violence that began on May 3, 2023, with most of them still living in relief camps.

More than 10,000 houses have been destroyed and several villages completely devastated during the conflict, he said, adding that violence was continuing and had now spread to districts that were earlier considered safe, bringing more communities into its ambit.

Akoijam clarified that the Congress was not demanding cancellation of the Census but its postponement until conditions become conducive.

He asked how house numbering and listing could be carried out in villages affected by violence when thousands of residents had been displaced and were living in relief camps.

"Accurate house listing of thousands of homeless people living in relief camps is practically impossible," he said, adding that conducting the exercise in the present circumstances would amount to further injustice and humiliation for people who had already suffered for three years.

Akoijam said he had raised the issue in Parliament through a notice under Rule 377 and had also written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah seeking intervention.

The Congress MP also raised concerns over illegal migration through Manipur's open border with Myanmar. He demanded that the National Register of Citizens process be completed before the Census so that an authentic database of citizens could be prepared.