KPA Backs NRC in Principle, Calls for Centre-Led Exercise in Manipur

The Kuki People’s Alliance (KPA) has expressed its support in principle for the implementation of a National Register of Citizens (NRC), while insisting that the exercise must be conducted strictly according to law and exclusively under the Government of India.

In a statement responding to repeated demands from valley-based civil society organisations (CSOs) for implementation of the NRC and resolutions passed by the Manipur Legislative Assembly, the KPA said it had “no objection” to an NRC exercise in principle, describing it as a national exercise intended to identify citizens.

However, the KPA cautioned against making the NRC a precondition for conducting the Census. It said the Census is a constitutional and statutory requirement and argued that subjecting it to a prerequisite such as NRC would be contrary to constitutional provisions.

The KPA also stressed that any NRC exercise must follow the legal framework laid down under the Citizenship Act, 1955, the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003, and the Constitution of India.

It opposed what it described as “shortcuts” or the introduction of state-specific arbitrary cut-off dates, including 1951 or 1961.

The KPA’s strongest demand was that both the NRC exercise and any related process must be conducted solely by the Government of India through the Registrar General of India.

Given the prevailing situation in Manipur, the KPA said the state government and its agencies should have no role in the exercise. It cited what it described as an “absolute trust-deficit” between hill and valley communities, arguing that the involvement of the state government would lead to perceptions of bias and would therefore be unacceptable to the KPA.

The KPA said it supports a legal, transparent and centrally conducted exercise, whether it is an NRC or the Census.