IMPHAL, March 14 (NNN): Manipur Police on Monday foiled students’ bid to storm the chief minister’s secretariat and the Raj Bhavan, demanding implementation of National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state and Manipur Population Commission.
The students tried to storm the chief minister’s secretariat and the Raj Bhavan during a rally organised jointly by five students’ bodies – AMSU, MSF, DESAM, KSA, SUK and AIM.
The slogan shouting students’ rally, kicked off from DESAM’s office premises at Kwakeithel in Imphal, first attempted to storm the chief minister’s secretariat on Monday, around 11:30 am.
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The police on duty in front of the CM’s Secretariat with additional force from the Imphal West district police headquarters, however, prevented them at the traffic point situated close to the secretariat.
After taking control of the rally, the police escorted them upto Keishampat Junction, passing through the road on the southern side of Raj Bhavan.
On the way, the students again attempted to storm the Raj Bhavan. This time, too, the police foiled their attempt after a brief tussle.
The protesting students were pushed back.
Earlier, a large number of students from various colleges and schools converged at the office premises of DESAM and carried out the rally under the banner “Implement NRC in Manipur”.
The students also displayed placards read as “Deport illegal immigrants”, “Set up state population commission”, “Protect the indigenous people,” “We oppose unauthorized emergence of new villages”, “Save environment”, etc.
Talking to the media, DESAM president Leishangthem Lamyanba said that implementation of the NRC and setting up of the population commission are the only long term policy to check ever increasing illegal migrants in the state.
He alleged that despite the government’s drive, there has been an abnormal surge of population in some hill districts besides emergence of new villages in the reserved and protected forests.
Immigrants entering the state illegally are setting up new villages in the remote areas of some hill districts, he said, while alleging that most of the emerging new villages were set up by the illegal immigrants.
“This is a serious threat, not only to the indigenous people of the state, but to the environment,” he said.
The Manipur government took up various steps and drives to check the influx of immigrants. However, it was not effective due to a lack of long term policy, he also said.
The state government should implement NRC which got the consent of the Supreme Court and the state Assembly had also resolved to implement the same in the state.
The state cabinet had also approved the setting up of the state population commission.
However, the resolution of the Assembly and decision of the cabinet were yet to be translated into action, he alleged.
NRC is the only tool which can detect illegal immigrants from neighboring countries like Myanmar, Bangladesh and Nepal who had already settled in the state.
“They should be identified and deported to save the indigenous people,” Leishangthem said.
The DESAM president further demanded that the state government should keep a close watch on the emergence of new villages to check if it was set up by the illegal immigrants and evict the unauthorized settlers in the reserved and protected forest areas across the state.
He demanded that all the unauthorized settlers should be evicted and showed the illegal immigrants that there is law.
