Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Friday said his government has set up a State Population Commission to identify "illegal immigrants", adding the government was ready to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) once it gets approval from the central government.

“We’ve already constituted a population commission… We’ve appointed the members,” Singh said in response to questions at a Press conference in Imphal. The chief minister stressed that a house-to-house survey will be conducted soon to identify the illegal immigrants. “Now through this, we’re going to identify who’s who in the state. We’ll do it.”

Asked about the demand to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Manipur, Singh said, “NRC is doing this in Assam as per Supreme Court directive. But if (we) want to do NRC, we (Manipur) alone cannot do it. We need the approval of the central government.”

The announcement comes days after Manipur's capital Imphal witnessed massive protests against the government's alleged "delaying tactics" in implementing the citizens' register to keep in check the surge in the population of illegal immigrants.

Earlier on March 29, thousands of women from three Ima Keithels (all-women-run markets), members of the six student bodies carried out a rally from Khwairamband Keithel towards the chief minister`s secretariat demanding implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Manipur. 

The protesters alleged that the rising influx of outsiders from across state borders and neighbouring countries like Myanmar, Nepal and Bangladesh were a threat to the indigenous Manipur population, affecting their identity, culture and economy. They demanded the state government detect and deport such illegal immigrants.

Manipur was the fourth state after Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram where the Inner Line Permit regime was introduced. The objective of the ILP system is to prevent the settlement of other Indian nationals in the states that come under it to protect the indigenous population.

Image source: Zee News