Imphal, June 28: Former Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Saturday informed that the central leaders of the BJP are assessing the situation and said that efforts are on to reinstall a popular government in the state, which has been under President’s rule for the past over four months.
“I am hopeful that a new government will be formed in Manipur soon,” Singh told the media on the sidelines of a book release programme at the BJP state headquarters. He said that the BJP is a national party, and after looking into the ground situation and assessing all other aspects, the new government would be formed at the earliest.
“BJP and its ally parties all wanted a popular government in Manipur to effectively deal with the situation in the state,” said Singh, who resigned from the Chief Ministerial post on February 9, four days before the promulgation of President’s Rule on February 13. The former Chief Minister said that many leaders and organisations have approached the Central government and all stakeholders to evolve an amicable solution and restore peace and normalcy in the state.
He said that the central government has been working around the clock to restore peace and normalcy in the state and added that Manipur has not witnessed any communal violence for the last seven to eight months, indicating a gradual return to peace and normalcy.
“Illegal migrants and unlawful drug menaces have affected the entire northeast, including Manipur. Gradually, one and all have come to understand this vital threat,” Singh reiterated. The book “The Emergency Diaries”, which was released at the BJP office in Imphal, recounts the experiences of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the 1975 Emergency as a young RSS worker.
Biren Singh stated that the occasion also serves to remember a time when democratic rights were suspended in India and described the Emergency as a dark chapter in the country’s political history. BJP Manipur state President Adhikarimayum Sharda Devi also said that efforts are underway to restore a democratically elected government in the state. She stated that consultations are being held between the BJP’s central leadership and the state unit.
Referring to the Emergency of 1975, she said it remains a reminder of the dangers of authoritarian rule and added that the BJP was officially formed in 1980. Meanwhile, former Chief Minister Singh earlier said that he and BJP’s Rajya Sabha Member from the state, Maharaja Sanajaoba Leishemba, met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi earlier this month and urged his intervention to restore normalcy in the state.
BJP’s North East In-charge Sambit Patra also last month visited the state’s Kangpokpi and Churachandpur districts and met Kuki BJP MLAs Vungzagin Valte and Nemcha Kipgen and several Kuki-Zo and civil society organisations, including the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU). Patra also met Biren Singh and other leaders in Imphal.
The 60-member Manipur Assembly, which, after the promulgation of President’s Rule on February 13, has been put under suspended animation, has a tenure till 2027.
IANS