People displaced by Manipur violence to cast votes at special polling stations in relief camps
Imphal (PTI): Special polling stations will be set up at relief camps to enable people displaced due to the ethnic strife in Manipur to cast their votes in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, an official statement said.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has issued directions in this regard, the statement issued by the state Chief Electoral Officer on Friday said.
"A large number of electors registered in several parts of the state were displaced from their native places during the conflict that started on May 3, 2023. Presently, they are residing in relief camps in various districts. The displaced electors are still enrolled at the places where they were residents before the conflict started," it stated.
"The ECI, after due consultation with the central and state governments, has directed that all such displaced persons who had to leave their native places during the conflict shall continue to be borne on the electoral rolls of the assembly and parliamentary constituencies concerned in the state," the statement said.
"As per past precedent of similar nature, the internally displaced electors shall be provided with the facility to vote at special polling stations to be set up in relief camps," it added.
Voting in these special polling stations "shall be conducted using separate EVMs for each parliamentary constituency".
All rules and directions applicable for the conduct of polls at the original polling stations will apply at these special polling stations as well, it added.
Counting of votes polled at the special polling stations will be conducted by designated assistant returning officers (AROs) at the specified counting centres specially set up for this purpose with the prior approval of the Commission.
A majority of over 50,000 internally displaced people are currently staying at relief centres across five valley districts and three hill districts.
At least 219 people have been killed in the ethnic strife in the state that started on May 3 last year after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley, while tribals, which include Nagas and Kukis, constitute 40 per cent and reside mainly in the hill districts.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Assam: 20 illegal immigrants pushed back to Bangladesh
Guwahati (PTI): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said 20 foreign nationals were apprehended in the state and pushed back to Bangladesh.
"Rude people don't understand soft language... We continuously remind ourselves of this prophetic line when we expel infiltrators from Assam who don't leave themselves. For instance, these 20 illegal Bangladeshis who were PUSHED BACK last night," Sarma said in a post on X.
He, however, did not share details pertaining to the location where they were nabbed or their nationality.
"Assam will fight, Pushbacks WILL CONTINUE," Sarma asserted.
Sribhumi, Cachar, Dhubri and South Salmara-Mankachar districts in Assam share 267.5 km of the international border with Bangladesh.
There is an Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Sutarkandi in Sribhumi. The northeast has a total of three ICPs along the India-Bangladesh border, the other two being at Dawki in Meghalaya and Akhaura in Tripura.
Another ICP in the region is at Darranga in Assam along the India-Bhutan border.
The Assam Police had earlier said that the force and the BSF would do everything possible to prevent any attempt by non-Indians to enter the country from Bangladesh, as per law, following a political turmoil in the neighbouring nation in 2024.
However, all Indian passport holders have been allowed to return from trouble-hit Bangladesh through the entry point in the state.
