IMPHAL, Nov 18 - Women vendors in the Manipur capital, including those from the iconic Ima Keithel (mother�s market) renewed their movement against the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB) by staging a mass day-long sit-in demonstration on Monday.
Holding placards which read �No CAB in North East�, �Withdraw CAB unconditionally�, a large number of women vendors participated in the sit-in held a day after the Manipur People Against Citizenship Amendment Bill (MANPAC), a conglomerate of several civil society organisations in the state, made an announcement to resume its public movement. The main market areas of Imphal remained closed during the sit-in demonstration.
MANPAC, which had been spearheading the public movement against CAB in Manipur, under the initiative of the North East Forum of Indigenous People (NEFIP), has also announced an 18-hour shutdown in Manipur from Monday midnight to 6 pm of Tuesday (November 19). MANPAC�s move came after reports said the CAB has been listed to be tabled in the winter session of Parliament.
In view of the shutdown called by MANPAC, state Chief Secretary Dr J Suresh Babu on Monday issued an order instructing all government offices including educational institutions to remain open and function normally besides directing employees to attend their respective offices compulsorily.
Meanwhile, students of schools, higher secondary school and colleges in Manipur also took out a protest march after staging a sit-in in Imphal as part of the region-wide protests against CAB called by the North East Students� Organisation (NESO), which consists of eight powerful student bodies of the North East, including the All Manipur Students� Union (AMSU).
Participating in the sit-in, AMSU�s Human Resource Development secretary Pebam Bruce said the CAB was against the interest and wishes of the North East, particularly the people of Manipur.
