Cong takes pot shots at BJP led State Govt

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Mar 27 : The incumbent Y Khemchand-led State Government is acting like a puppet, dancing to the tune of the Centre and it does not have the courage to take a concrete stance on the issue of census, said Opposition Congress.
Speaking to media persons at Congress Bhavan, BT Road here today, MPCC general secretary Seram Neken said that the State’s BJP Government is unable to take a firm position on the issue of census, and thus it is defying the collective wish and pulse of the people.
There is a growing suspicion that the BJP Government has been facilitating illegal immigrants in obtaining Indian citizenship by including them in the census operation, he said.
The Government’s failure to identify illegal immigrants before the census operations raises a serious question whether the Government is abetting the scheme to disintegrate Manipur, Neken said.
Amidst the vehement and collective demand for identification and deportation of illegal immigrants before carrying out census operations, the Government has issued a notification informing that work of house listing will be done from September 1 to 30 this year.
The State Government has been acting in total contradiction to the popular demand to first update the NRC, he said.
There is a huge population of illegal immigrants in Manipur at present and this is known to the Government of India, Neken said.
Speaking on different platforms, Union Home Minister Amit Shah stated that the Central Government has taken serious note of the issue of illegal immigration and all illegal immigrants should be deported back to their native countries.
However, no action is visible on the ground in Manipur to translate the Union Home Minister’s announcement, the MPCC general secretary remarked.
At present, different communities cannot go to each other’s areas and there is restriction on inter-district movement. At the same time, tens of thousands of people have been suffering untold misery at relief camps, he said.
He warned that carrying out census operations in haste under the prevailing situation will have far reaching consequences upon the people of Manipur.
Neken asked how house listing will be done for the residents of Moreh, now displaced and taking shelter at different relief camps.
He questioned the meaning of deferring the census operations (house listing) by just four/five months. He asked whether it is aimed at distracting public attention or whether the Government has any intention to identify and deport illegal immigrants before initiating the house listing work.
As for the Congress party, it has already made clear that no census operations should be carried out until and unless illegal immigrants are identified, the MPCC general secretary asserted.
Reacting to an assertion made by one Advocate P Tomcha during a TV discussion programme that Dr Bimol Akoijam raised the issue of only Mayanglambam Rishikanta who was shot dead in cold blood on video by Kuki militants even after he pleaded for his life with folded hands, Seram Neken  maintained that the MP raised many other issues of Manipur too during the short time slot given to him in the Lok Sabha.
There is no rule that the MP should raise each and every issue of Manipur. Moreover, it will be impossible to raise every issue of Manipur during the short period, Neken said.
Even when the Meitei-Kuki conflict has not been resolved, Kuki-Tangkhul conflict has been fast escalating, he observed.
He said that neither the Central Government nor the State Government has been working sincerely. At the same time, the State Government is only following the dictates of the Centre like a puppet, he added.
Even though Chief Minister Y Khemchand has been talking about trust deficit among communities, many MLAs/Ministers attended the Assembly session in virtual mode which means the MLAs do not trust each other, Neken said.
The BJP Government is still unable to bring out a comprehensive roadmap to peace. The Government is not able to even expand the Council of Ministers to the full capacity, he said.
He also appealed to all concerned to invite only resourceful, knowledgeable and unbiased individuals to TV discussion programmes.