Meitei group COCOMI opposes delimitation in Manipur before NRC

Imphal, Mar 21 (PTI) The COCOMI, an umbrella body of several Meitei civil society organisations of Manipur, on Friday objected to the delimitation exercise before implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the restive state.
    The statement of the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) came four days after the Supreme Court granted three months to the Centre to carry out delimitation exercise in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur and Nagaland.
    "Without proper identification and removal of illegal immigrants (from Manipur), any delimitation process would be unjust and detrimental to indigenous people… Proceeding with delimitation before NRC implementation will legitimise encroachers and threaten native communities' rights,” COCOMI Convenor Khuraijam Athouba said.
    The organsiation has been demanding that the Centre implement NRC in the state to identify illegal immigrants from neighbouring Myanmar, accusing them of being largely responsible for the ongoing ethnic violence in the northeastern state.
    The government should proceed with the delimitation exercise only after an authentic data of the actual voters, devoid of illegal immigrants, is produced, the COCOMI convenor said.
    The Centre informed the Supreme Court on March 17 that consultations for delimitation were underway for Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, but the ongoing violence in Manipur made the situation unsuitable.
    More than 250 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in Manipur in ethnic violence between Meiteis and Kuki-Zo groups since May 2023.
    The Centre had imposed President's rule in the state on February 13 after N Biren Singh resigned as chief minister. The state assembly, which has tenure till 2027, has been put under suspended animation.
    The COCOMI also demanded a military crackdown on Kuki armed groups operating in the state’s hill areas.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)