‘No NRC, No Census’: Protesters disrupt Manipur census training

Protesters demanding implementation of the NRC in Manipur on Friday disrupted a training programme for census personnel in Bishnupur district, officials said.

Members of the Campaign for Just and Fair Delimitation (JFD) students' wing entered Moirang College, where a training programme for enumerators and supervisors for the census exercise was scheduled.

The protesters, carrying placards that read 'No NRC, No Census', forced trainees to leave the premises before the training could begin, officials said.

Police personnel were rushed to the spot to bring the situation under control.

JFD students' wing convenor Naorem Wangamba later told reporters that the organisation had been demanding the National Register of Citizens (NRC) to identify illegal immigrants.

"We have been demanding NRC to find out the illegal immigrants. However, the government is seeking to conduct the census without carrying out NRC. NRC is important to save the future generations," he said.

Wangamba urged the government to respect the people's demands and refrain from proceeding with the census until those demands are met.

The JFD has been demanding that the NRC be conducted in the state before the census exercise to identify illegal immigrants.