<p>Guwahati: Days after the <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/supreme-court">Supreme Court</a> gave three-months time to the Centre to carry out <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/delimitation">delimitation</a> of constituencies in Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, leaders belonging to the majority Meitei community in the conflict-hit Manipur stepped up the demand for implementation of the NRC first before carrying out the delimitation exercise.</p><p>The leaders also opposed the move to carry out the delimitation without finding a solution to the conflict involving the Meitei and the Kukis since May 2023. </p><p>The leaders of the community claim that a NRC with 1951 as the cut-off is a must in order to detect the "illegal migrants" belonging to Chin-Kuki communities, who were allegedly trying to gain prominence in the state politics.</p><p>"The completion of the NRC is fundamental to ensuring that representation within the democratic structure is reserved solely for bonafide citizens," BJP MLA Rajkumar Imo Singh said in a memorandum submitted to Home Minister Amit Saha, on March 24. Singh is the son-in-law of N Biren Singh, who resigned as the CM in February.</p>.BJP MP demands to detect illegal immigrants in Manipur by implementing NRC.<p>Manipur has remained under the President's rule since Biren's resignation, owing to the ethnic conflict.</p><p>Two days later on Wednesday, BJP's Rajya Sabha member and titular king of the erstwhile Meitei kingdom, Sanajaoba Leishemba raised the issue in the Upper House stating that it would not be conducive to carry out alteration of the constituencies amid the present law and order situation. </p><p>Sanajaoba stressed that a solution to the problem of "illegal migration" must be found through implementation of the NRC with 1951 as the cut-off, in view of the "abnormal rise" in population in the Kuki-dominated districts. He said the Kuki-dominated districts like Kangpokpi, Churachandpur, Tengnoupal, Pherzwl and Chandel witnessed abnormal rise in the number of villages, from 731 to 1,624 between 1969 to 2024. </p><p>"In contrast, in Naga-dominated areas, the number of villages increased from 527 to 576 during the same period. The volume of nefarious activities by a particular community (Kukis) so as to capture political gain is growing. The illegal immigrants are trying to penetrate into electoral politics through illegal immigration by taking advantage of the porous Indo-Myanmar border," he said. </p><p><strong>Demand for NRC</strong></p><p>The demand for the NRC in Manipur is not new. In 2022, Manipur Legislative Assembly had adopted a resolution to implement the NRC with 1951 as the cut-off following massive demands in the Meitei-dominated valley. The resolution was endorsed again by the Assembly in March 2024. The 10 MLAs belonging to the Kuki-Zo communities, however, opposed the resolution saying the same would victimise the Kukis and label the Indian citizens as foreigners.</p>
<p>Guwahati: Days after the <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/supreme-court">Supreme Court</a> gave three-months time to the Centre to carry out <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/delimitation">delimitation</a> of constituencies in Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, leaders belonging to the majority Meitei community in the conflict-hit Manipur stepped up the demand for implementation of the NRC first before carrying out the delimitation exercise.</p><p>The leaders also opposed the move to carry out the delimitation without finding a solution to the conflict involving the Meitei and the Kukis since May 2023. </p><p>The leaders of the community claim that a NRC with 1951 as the cut-off is a must in order to detect the "illegal migrants" belonging to Chin-Kuki communities, who were allegedly trying to gain prominence in the state politics.</p><p>"The completion of the NRC is fundamental to ensuring that representation within the democratic structure is reserved solely for bonafide citizens," BJP MLA Rajkumar Imo Singh said in a memorandum submitted to Home Minister Amit Saha, on March 24. Singh is the son-in-law of N Biren Singh, who resigned as the CM in February.</p>.BJP MP demands to detect illegal immigrants in Manipur by implementing NRC.<p>Manipur has remained under the President's rule since Biren's resignation, owing to the ethnic conflict.</p><p>Two days later on Wednesday, BJP's Rajya Sabha member and titular king of the erstwhile Meitei kingdom, Sanajaoba Leishemba raised the issue in the Upper House stating that it would not be conducive to carry out alteration of the constituencies amid the present law and order situation. </p><p>Sanajaoba stressed that a solution to the problem of "illegal migration" must be found through implementation of the NRC with 1951 as the cut-off, in view of the "abnormal rise" in population in the Kuki-dominated districts. He said the Kuki-dominated districts like Kangpokpi, Churachandpur, Tengnoupal, Pherzwl and Chandel witnessed abnormal rise in the number of villages, from 731 to 1,624 between 1969 to 2024. </p><p>"In contrast, in Naga-dominated areas, the number of villages increased from 527 to 576 during the same period. The volume of nefarious activities by a particular community (Kukis) so as to capture political gain is growing. The illegal immigrants are trying to penetrate into electoral politics through illegal immigration by taking advantage of the porous Indo-Myanmar border," he said. </p><p><strong>Demand for NRC</strong></p><p>The demand for the NRC in Manipur is not new. In 2022, Manipur Legislative Assembly had adopted a resolution to implement the NRC with 1951 as the cut-off following massive demands in the Meitei-dominated valley. The resolution was endorsed again by the Assembly in March 2024. The 10 MLAs belonging to the Kuki-Zo communities, however, opposed the resolution saying the same would victimise the Kukis and label the Indian citizens as foreigners.</p>