In the escalating internal crisis in the Manipur unit of National People’s Party (NPP), deputy chief minister Y Joykumar Singh has been expelled from the “party for six years”.
Addressing a press conference in Imphal on Wednesday, Thangminlien Kipgen who claimed to be the re-elected president of the state unit of NPP alleged the deputy chief minister of indulging in activities to break the party (NPP Manipur unit).
“He (Joykumar) has been expelled from the party on the recommendation of the disciplinary committee of the party”, Kipgen said. Kipgen blamed Joykumar for the crisis within the state unit of the party.
“He (Joykumar) passed wrong information to the national president Conrad K Sangma who is also the chief minister of Meghalaya with an intention to break the party”, Thangminlien Kipgen further alleged. Kipgen also alleged that none of the four MLAs of the party enjoying ministerial berths in the coalition government in Manipur “loves the party”. He added, “None of them (ministers) are concerned on strengthening the party in the state. Since they became primary members of the party, not a single person was enrolled as a party member till date”.
Thangminlien Kipgen also said that all the four ministers joined the party when they were denied tickets to contest the election by other political parties during the assembly elections to the state Assembly held in 2017 and won the elections.
Thangminlien Kipgen then said that the post of national president of NPP was offered to Conrad K Sangma as a mark of respect to late P A Sangma who was the man behind pushing the party at the national level. “However, the state unit of the party would not like Sangma trying to control the party as his family’s party and doing whatever he likes”, Kipgen added.
Mention may be made here that Conrad K Sangma as a national president of NPP had expelled Thangminlien Kipgen along with some of the latter’s associates for allegedly going against the party constitution and then appointed Manipur Fishery minister N Kayisii as interim president of the state unit of the party. However, Kipgen was declared re-elected as president by the state unit of NPP.
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