14 CSOs Kangleipak warned of filing a High Court petition if the RGI fails to respond within a 3-week deadline over census concerns, citing demographic imbalance risks, IDP issues, and ongoing unrest in Manipur.
IMPHAL – The 14 CSOs Kangleipak has warned that a petition will be filed in the High Court if no response is received from the Registrar General of India (RGI) within the stipulated three-week timeframe, as the deadline nears its end. The announcement was made by Shanta Nahakpam, Convenor of 14 CSOs of Kangleipak, at a press meet held today at the IPSA office in Keishampat.
Shanta stated that the 14 CSOs Kangleipak had earlier submitted a representation to the RGI containing various points concerning the census operation and had provided a three-week timeframe for a response. As that deadline is now nearing its end, he made clear that should no response be forthcoming from the RGI, the organisations would move the High Court by filing a petition.
Shanta noted that following the unfortunate incident at Tronglaobi on April 7, the census issue had moved in a certain direction. He observed that since the government failed to take appropriate action regarding the April 7 incident, matters had also moved in a one-sided direction. Rather than issuing a statement addressing the ongoing unrest, the state government had shifted its focus toward infrastructure development. While the organisations have no objection to developmental works, Shanta described it as unfortunate that no steps were being taken to gain the public's trust regarding the existing issues.
He also pointed out that reports had come in of Kukis planning a new blockade at Litan, that firing had not stopped in that area, and that unrest continues in Churachandpur as well. The Chief Minister's recent visit to Kangpokpi, he said, is not seen as a peace-building effort, but merely as passing through the area.
Shanta explained that while preparations had initially been made to commence house-listing from the first week of April, the government subsequently issued a fresh notice pushing the start to August. Following this, a legal representation was submitted to the RGI on behalf of the 14 organisations.
The representation flags that conducting the census at this juncture would lead to a demographic data imbalance, amount to contempt of existing court cases, and affect fairness and arbitrariness as per constitutional provisions. It specifically highlights Articles 19, 21, and 326 of the Constitution, noting that fair representation in constituencies would not be possible under current conditions.
The representation also references the 2023 Supreme Court case of Anup Bhandari vs Union of India, and flags that elections are due in Manipur in 2027. It urges that the census be conducted only after updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC) to ensure a free and fair representative election, warning that proceeding without NRC updation would result in significant errors in census data.
The representation further warns that conducting a house count at the current locations of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) would give rise to serious problems, with reports suggesting that some MLAs are in a position to enrol IDPs staying in their respective Assembly Constituencies as voters.
Drawing on historical precedents, the representation points out that in 1981 and 1991, the census was postponed in Assam and Jammu & Kashmir due to unrest, and in 2021, the census was deferred nationwide due to COVID-19.
Shanta stated that Circular No. 1 of the Census of India 2021 mandates that the complete list of villages from the State Revenue Department must be compared with the village list from the 2011 census to avoid discrepancies between District Administration data and the Census Master Directory. Without clarity on whether these rules are being practically implemented, the government has issued an order to start house-listing and headcounting in Henglep and Saikot. The representation to the RGI was sent to stay this order, address previous contempts, and enable a proper process to move forward.
Shanta also stated that the public will not accept the government's current approach to the census, characterising it as self-styled. He noted that following the incident on April 7, there has been no development from the government regarding the census, and there appears to be a lack of government review on the progress report of talks held between COCOMI and other CSOs with MHA Special Advisor AK Mishra.
He urged the government not to attempt to create new CSOs in the name of unity by viewing existing organisations with different perspectives or causing anger and misunderstanding within their movements. The discussions held between AK Mishra and CSOs during the previous government's tenure, he asserted, cannot be ignored, adding that the 14 organisations will stand firm on the positions taken during those earlier talks.
