IMPHAL, Feb 9: Amidst rumblings within the state BJP seeking a change of leadership, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Sunday tendered his resignation to Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla at the Raj Bhavan in Imphal, officials said.
The governor accepted Singh’s resignation, along with that of his council of ministers, and requested that he continue in office until alternative arrangements are made.
The development comes hours after he returned from Delhi.
Earlier this week, a new controversy erupted after the Supreme Court sought a sealed-cover forensic report on the authenticity of leaked audio clips alleging the role of Singh in the ethnic violence.
The tapes reportedly included conversations where Singh allegedly suggested that Meitei groups were allowed to loot arms and ammunition from the state government during the unrest, which has so far claimed 250 lives.
In his resignation letter, Singh said, “It has been an honour to serve the people of Manipur thus far. I am extremely grateful to the central government for timely actions, interventions, developmental work and implementation of various projects for safeguarding the interests of every single Manipuri.”
“My sincere request to the central government through your good office is to continue with the same. I take the opportunity to enumerate the most important ones of them…to maintain the territorial integrity of Manipur which has a rich and diverse civilizational history over thousands of years,” the letter added.
Singh in his resignation letter also requested the Centre to continue the “crackdown on border infiltration and to formulate policy for the deportation of the illegal immigrants and the fight against drugs and narco terrorism.”
On Saturday, Singh convened a meeting with BJP-led ruling alliance MLAs at the CM Secretariat. The meeting was held in the wake of the opposition Congress seeking to move a no-confidence motion against the government led by Singh during the Assembly session starting February 10. The session has been called off.
It was not immediately clear whether the BJP will appoint a new CM.
The Congress was prompt to react that the resignation was “belated” and said people of the state were now awaiting a visit by “our frequent-flier Prime Minister” Narendra Modi.
BJP sources on the other side expressed hope that his resignation will help boost the efforts being helmed by the Centre to broker peace between the two main ethnic communities in the state.
Noting that former home secretary Ajay Bhalla was appointed the state’s governor in December last with an apparent aim to accelerate peace and security measures, they said Singh’s resignation will help the process and convey the Centre’s sincerity in bridging the ethnic divide.
A source said that Singh was also losing support among BJP MLAs, many of whom have met party leaders in Delhi to convey their unhappiness with his continuation.
In his letter to the governor, the CM also urged the central government “to continue the stringent and fool-proof revised mechanism of Free Movement Regime (FMR) with the biometric being stringently applied time bound and faster border which is under way.”
The Congress on Sunday described N Biren Singh’s resignation from the post of Manipur chief minister as “belated”, and said “our frequent-flier” Prime Minister Narendra Modi must visit the state immediately and share with the people his plans to restore normalcy.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge described Singh’s resignation as “shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted”.
He also blamed Modi as the real culprit of “disdain and apathy” towards the strife-torn state.
“It is painful to say that for 21 months, the BJP ignited a fire in Manipur and left the people across communities to fend for themselves,” Kharge said in a post on X.
“Their rank incompetence and utter disregard for Rajdharma resulted in at least 258 people having died, more than 5,600 arms and 6.5 lakh rounds of ammunition were looted from police armouries, more than 60,000 people displaced and thousands still forced to live in relief camps,” he added.
Further slamming the prime minister, Kharge said Modi had forgotten that Manipur was a part of India. “It is high time he rejigs his memory and locate the state of Manipur on the map of India!”
“Modi ji has not stepped on Manipur’s soil since his last election campaign in January 2022, although he had time to visit several foreign countries in between. Now that the chief minister has belatedly resigned, we hope and urge him to visit Manipur and hear the stories of horror from the people,” the Congress president added. (PTI)
