The 36-hour total shutdown in Manipur could not dissuade protestors of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill from continuing their agitation. The organization Manipur People against Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (MANPAC), which has been staging mass protests against the Bill in the state, has re-launched the protest today, as the organization held a black flag march. MANPAC is being aided and abetted by six student bodies in the protests.
While calling for a continuation of the ongoing ‘on road mass agitation’, they called for ‘black flag mass protest’ on Monday and ‘motorless on road mass agitation with black flag’ on on Tuesday, according to reports. Moreover, the agitating bodies have appealed the people of Manipur to raise black flags in their respective houses from Monday onwards.
All Manipur Students’ Union (AMSU) President Manjit Sarangthem on behalf of the six students’ organizations announced that the student bodies have decided to surrender the Hindi textbooks to the state Governor and the Chief Minister as part of its ongoing campaign against the Bill, and thus are showing solidarity with MANPAC’s resolve to boycott Hindi language in the state.
Interacting with media in Imphal on Sunday, MANPAC and the six student bodies further announced a social boycott of State Forest and Environment Minister Thounaojam Shyamkumar Singh who alleged that the agitations against are being instigated by the Congress.