The Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) has raised strong objections to the upcoming visit of Union Home Minister Amit Shah to Manipur on April 14, accusing it of being politically motivated. In a press conference held at the Congress Bhavan, Kh Debabrata, the working president of MPCC, urged Shah to retract his statement regarding the implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Manipur.
Debabrata alleged that the BJP government is misleading the public by spreading false propaganda about the Congress Party’s stance on the NRC issue. He clarified that while the Congress Party supported the Citizenship Amendment Act passed in 2003, it had also provided suggestions related to the NRC under Section 14A from a humanitarian perspective. However, he accused the BJP of deliberately misinterpreting these suggestions.
Referring to Shah’s announcement in 2019 regarding the nationwide implementation of the NRC, Debabrata highlighted a contradiction in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement on December 22, 2019. Modi had stated that there had been no discussion on the NRC since his government came into power, thus implying a status quo on the matter. Debabrata called on the BJP Manipur Pradesh to clarify Shah’s stance on the NRC during his visit to Manipur if they genuinely care about the issue.
Debabrata expressed concerns about the potential chaos and instability that could arise from implementing the NRC, citing the difficulties in identifying illegal immigrants and deporting them within a democratic framework. He criticized Shah for his delayed return to Manipur despite promising a solution to the state’s crisis during his previous visit.