Imphal: The chief minister of Manipur, N Biren Singh is most likely to hand over his resignation today at 3 pm as he calls on the Governor of Manipur Anusuiya Uikey, as per reliable sources.
According to a reliable source, BJP Manipur President, Adhikarimayum Sharda has said that BJP Manipur stands firm against N Biren’s resignation from the chief minister’s post.
Chief minister Nongthombam Biren Singh’s meeting with the Manipur Governor has been deferred to 3 pm. It was initially fixed for 1 pm today.
Amidst speculations, imposition of President’s Rule will likely be the next step for the Centre government to bring semblance of normalcy in the state roiled in ethnic conflict for almost two months now, since May 3.
N Biren Singh who was elected from Heingang Assembly Constituency became the chief minister of Manipur on March 15, 2017. He took the office of CM for the second term after the 2022 Manipur Legislative Assembly where the BJP won a comfortable majority with 32 seats in the 60 seats Assembly.
The ruling BJP has 37 MLAs including five MLAs of Naga People’s Front (NPF) and JD(U) who joined the party.
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Amid speculations of CM N Biren tendering his resignation today, a large number of people, mostly women, gathered in front of the chief minister’s Bungalow in Imphal to urge him not to quit. Among those who gathered are Meira Paibi members, market vendors and leaders of civil bodies. They said N Biren must not resign at this critical juncture.
It is interesting to note that Article 356 in the past was imposed in Manipur for as many as 10 times, including when the state was a Union territory from 1967, till it became a full fledged state in 1972.
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President’s Rule was also imposed during the Naga-Kuki clashes for almost a year in 1993 till 1994.
All the 10 President’s Rule imposed in Manipur in the past were majorly due to breakdown of law and order; collapse of government owing to defection etc. In some cases, President’s Rule was imposed owing to internal discontent within a ruling political party government for cases such as corruption charges, leading to dismissal of government and dissolution of Assembly.
It may also be added that N Biren Sigh while in Congress before he left for BJP, was critical of the former Congress chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh’s handling of tribal protests in which nine people died in Churachandpur in 2015.
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The opposition parties, especially the Congress and its like-minded parties, and the Kuki tribals have been demanding the ousting of N Biren as the CM of Manipur to pave the way for peace talks with the Kuki tribal community. Till the time of filing this report, it is still unclear whether N Biren will step down from his post or not.
According to India TodayNE, the Assembly is likely to be kept under animated suspension, said the source and added that a high-level meeting under Home Ministry in the chair is in progress to discuss the unfolding situation in Manipur.
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