A day after a meeting of former Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh with Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla, 10 NDA MLAs met with the Governor on Wednesday, claiming that they have the support of 44 legislators within the 60-member Assembly to form a popular government in the state.
The BJP contingent of eight members and the National People's Party (NPP) two-member group filed a petition before the Governor signed by 22 legislators seeking to constitute a new government.
After the meeting at Raj Bhavan, BJP MLA Thokchom Radheshyam Singh informed the media that 44 MLAs are willing to back the stalled government in Manipur. "But the BJP central leadership will finally take the decision regarding the new government," he said. He also brought out the tribulations of the people.
We had lost two years during the first term of the BJP government because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and during this second term, over two years have been wasted due to ethnic conflict," Singh said.
The 60-member Manipur Assembly, which was put under suspended animation after President's Rule was imposed on February 13, has a five-year term until 2027. On Tuesday, Biren Singh called on the Governor to talk about the restoration of peace, normalcy, and other important state issues.
A top officer disclosed that Biren Singh, who had resigned as Chief Minister on February 9—four days short of President's Rule being imposed in the turbulent state—urged Governor Bhalla to immediately address immediate concerns, the issue of illegal immigration being one of them.
Earlier this month, Maharaja Sanajaoba Leishemba, BJP Rajya Sabha member from Manipur, hoped that a popular government would be formed in two months. He urged political leaders to unite to address the problems of the state.
"Only the President's Rule cannot solve the existing problems. A popular government can sit with the people and come up with solutions to the existing ethnic crisis," he added.
Also last week, BJP's North East In-charge Sambit Patra called on Manipur's Kangpokpi and Churachandpur districts, where he met Kuki BJP MLAs Vungzagin Valte and Nemcha Kipgen, and various Kuki-Zo and civil society groups, including the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU).
Nemcha Kipgen was the sole female minister in the Manipur government headed by Biren Singh. Patra also had the one-to-one discussions with Biren Singh, Assembly Speaker Thokchom Satyabrata Singh, as well as other leaders and MLAs in Imphal.
But none of them revealed the details of the parleys during his three-day trip. His visit was a week after 21 MLAs signed a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, calling for the return of a "popular government" to the state.
As per one MLA, most of the 21 lawmakers were BJP members, with the others from the National People's Party (NPP), Naga People's Front (NPF), and independents. The letter expressed that though the citizens of Manipur received the President's Rule with hope and anticipation, no concrete steps have been taken to bring back peace and normalcy as yet.
With a view to resolving the two-year-old ethnic tensions, the inaugural tripartite meeting between Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) authorities and Meitei and Kuki-Zo community representatives was held in New Delhi on April 5.
On Tuesday, the topmost body of the Meitei community, the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), met government officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs in New Delhi and reaffirmed its strong commitment to restoring peace in the state.
Read also| BJP Claims Support of 44 MLAs to Form New Government in Manipur
