[23][24] On 8 October 2020, Sarbananda Sonowal, the then Chief Minister of Assam, declared an announcement that the aspirants of the civil services from the Barak Valley who do not study either Assamese, Bodo or Bengali languages will not be allowed to appear in the qualifying language paper in the exams conducted by the Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) CEE.

[28][29][30][31] During September 2020, Leishemba Sanajaoba, a Rajya Sabha MP of Manipur, urged Sarbananda Sonowal, the then Chief Minister of Assam, for the recognition of Meitei language as an 'associate' official language of Assam.

Earlier, Nongthombam Biren Singh, the Chief Minister of Manipur, had discussed with the Chief Minister of Assam, about the matter on the inclusion of Meitei language in the list of subjects in the examinations conducted by Assam Public Service Commission (APSC).

[38][39][40] During September 2020, the Guwahati Manipuri Coordination Committee (GMCC) submitted a memorandum to Sarbananda Sonowal regarding the inclusion of Meitei language in the Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) examinations.

[41] During October 2020, in reaction to the announcement of Assam Chief Minister, regarding the exemption of people, who do not study in either of the mandatory languages, from government job exams, various associations and organisations led by the "Manipuri Youths Front of Assam" (MYFA) burnt the effigy of Sarbananda Sonowal (the then Chief Minister) and Himanta Biswa Sarma (the then Education Minister).