Imphal: Manipur Congress president Keisham Meghachandra on Friday, February 14, claimed that a leadership crisis within the BJP and its failure to reach a consensus on a chief ministerial candidate led to the imposition of President’s rule in the state.
Meghachandra also said the central BJP leaders have “finally begun to understand” the ground situation in the strife-torn state.
Congress Legislature Party Leader in Manipur, Okram Ibobi Singh, described the imposition of the President’s Rule in the state as a “wrong step and a wrong policy”.
President’s rule was imposed in Manipur and the assembly was put under suspended animation on the evening of February 13, days after Chief Minister N Biren Singh resigned from his post which led to political uncertainty in the state.
“The leadership crisis that prevailed after the resignation of the chief minister, and a divided house within the BJP (on selecting a new CM) led to the imposition of President’s rule,” he told reporters here.
“Now, the Prime Minister has the whole responsibility… Now, (PM) Modi will hopefully look into the government’s inability to function and start addressing the crisis in the state,” Meghachandra said.
The onus for protecting the territorial and administrative integrity of Manipur is on the Union government, he added.
“The Congress party sees the imposition of President’s Rule in the state as a wrong step and a wrong policy which will not be accepted by the people. The state has endured much hardship over the last 21 months and this will create further hardships,” Ibobi Singh told another press conference.
Biren Singh, who was heading the BJP-led government in Manipur since 2017, resigned as chief minister after nearly 21 months of ethnic violence that has claimed over 250 lives so far since May 2023.
“It has never been heard in any state that despite a commanding majority in the assembly and just a day before a session was scheduled to start, the leader of a government would be asked to resign, said Ibobi Singh, a three-time former CM.
This is a clear disrespect to the mandate of the people, he said.
He also alleged that Manipur was actually under the Centre’s rule since violence between Meitei and Kuki communities broke out and it was only “officially” imposed on Thursday.
Manipur BJP president A Sharda had said on Thursday that the assembly has been put under suspended animation in accordance with the constitutional process and asserted that the House had not been dissolved yet.
The tenure of the Manipur assembly would expire in 2027.
