Governor Asks N Biren to Stay as CM Until Successor is Named

Imphal, Feb 9: Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh resigned on Sunday evening amid mounting pressure from various quarters who had been threatening to move a no-trust motion and a floor test.

Biren’ s resignation came one day ahead of the Manipur Legislative Assembly session, and nearly two years after the Meitei-Kuki violence broke out in Manipur.

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He handed over his resignation to Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla in the Raj Bhavan here.

A statement from the Manipur Raj Bhavan said, “Chief Minister of Manipur, Shri N. Biren Singh today submitted his resignation to Governor of Manipur, Shri Ajay Kumar Bhalla at Raj Bhavan, Imphal. The Chief Minister accompanied by some Ministers, MLAs and BJP State President reached Raj Bhavan this evening and called on the Governor. He submitted his resignation to the Governor”.

The Governor accepted the resignation of the Chief Minister along with the Council of Ministers and asked him to continue in office till alternative arrangements are made. 

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In his resignation letter Biren stated, “It has been an honour to serve the people of Manipur thus far. I am extremely grateful to the central government for time actions, interventions, developmental work and implementation of various projects for safeguarding the interests of every single Manipuri.”

BJP’s North East Manipur in-charge Sambit Patra, Manipur BJP president A Sharda and at least 19 MLAs accompanied Biren while submitting the letter to the Governor in the evening.

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Notably, Biren Singh visited Delhi on Saturday evening amid the buzz about a probable no-confidence motion by the opposition in the Manipur upcoming assembly session scheduled to start on Monday.

Earlier that day, Biren also chaired a meeting with ruling party MLAs at the CM’s Secretariat. Some legislators reportedly skipped the meeting.

Manipur has been facing violence between the Meiteis and the Kukis since May 3, 2023. 

In March 2017, Biren was sworn in as Chief Minister of Manipur for the first time. He was the first-ever BJP Chief Minister in Manipur.

(Newmai News Network)

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