IMPHAL/ NEW DELHI/ SHILLONG: The BJP on Tuesday took the four National People’s Party (NPP) ministers, who resigned from the N Biren Singh-led Manipur government, to Delhi for a meeting with central leaders to salvage the situation in the Northeastern state, BJP sources said in Imphal.
The development comes with the four MLAs digging their heels in against Chief Minister Biren Singh with sources in Delhi saying the BJP might go for a change of leadership in Manipur to save the first saffron party-led alliance government in the state.
During a fresh round of talks with North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) convenor and Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and NPP national president and Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma at Imphal earlier in the day, the NPP leaders stuck to their demand for a change in the leadership of the BJP-led coalition government, the sources said.
Later, they were taken away by a special flight to New Delhi by Sangma and Sarma.
Sarma made a fervent appeal to the NPP legislators to return to the coalition but in vain.
The BJP is a coalition partner of the NPP-led government in Meghalaya and the latter is part of NDA at the Centre and in North East.
The Biren Singh ministry has found itself on a sticky wicket following the resignation of four NPP ministers, three rebel BJP MLAs, the lone All India Trinamool Congress legislator and an Independent. The Congress roped in these nine rebels and formed a coalition called the Secular Progressive Front (SPF).
Sarma and Sangma reached Imphal in a special aircraft and met the four leaders. This is the second round meeting of Sarma and Sangma with the four leaders after the one held on Sunday.
Later, Sarma left for Delhi, taking along the four NPP leaders.
The figure in support of Chief Minister Biren Singh stood at 23 — 18 MLAs of the BJP, four of the Naga People’s Front (NPF) and one MLA from the LJP.
The Congress asserted that the SPF has the backing of 29 legislators.
In Shillong, asked to comment on the Manipur political crisis Congress MLA Charles Pyngrope, who is the AICC secretary-in charge of Manipur, bluntly said, “Even God does not know about Manipur situation”.
On a serious note, he said that irrespective of political affiliations, the rule of law should prevail.
Pyngrope said, “Anti-defection law was not framed to suit anyone’s mood”.
He added that the Congress MLAs were advised to move the Supreme Court as the Governor and Speaker are silent on the situation.
Congress had 28 MLAs after the Assembly elections in 2017 but 8 legislators supported the BJP to form the government which, according to Pyngrope, should have been challenged in the Supreme Court since it was against the anti-defection law.