New Delhi: There are no “camps” within the state BJP and all MLAs are working for peace in the state, Manipur’s caretaker Chief Minister N. Biren Singh told ThePrint in his first interview since his resignation and imposition of President’s Rule in the state torn by ethnic conflict. “There are no Biren or anti-Biren camps… all the MLAs are together and are working to ensure peace and normalcy in the state,” Singh said Thursday.
It was a threat from a section of BJP MLAs opposed to Biren that pushed the party’s central leadership to demand his resignation. The MLAs threatened to potentially topple their own government by supporting the Opposition Congress’s likely no-confidence motion.
Sources in the BJP said Singh was in a precarious position with his support base among MLAs from his own party shrinking, and the state unit divided into pro- and anti-Biren camps.
In a telephonic interview with ThePrint, Manipur’s caretaker CM also said that, at this point, there is no question of BJP leaders in the state floating a new political outfit.
“BJP has done enough work in Manipur. We will continue to work to maintain the state’s territorial integrity,” he said. Biren Singh’s comment comes in the backdrop of the two factions within the state BJP exploring the option to break away and float their own regional outfits if the ongoing political deadlock remains unresolved.
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‘Working to bring normalcy’
Biren Singh also said that, in his second term in office, his government undertook many initiatives for the state’s development. “We declared a war on drugs, regular operations were conducted to destroy poppy plantations…we have taken measures to safeguard Manipur’s border, check illegal immigration.”
The caretaker CM said protection of Manipur’s territorial integrity is very important and the Centre should take strict action to stop border infiltration and deport those who have crossed the border illegally.
Singh, however, refused to comment on whether President’s Rule should be prolonged or a popular government should be installed in the state.
He conceded that there is anger among citizens in the state because of the prevailing situation. “We are all working to bring normalcy…,” Singh said.
In his resignation letter, Singh had urged the Centre to continue working “to maintain the territorial integrity of Manipur, which has a rich and diverse civilisational history over thousands of years, to crack down on border infiltration and to formulate policy for the deportation of the illegal immigrants, to continue the fight against drugs and narco terrorism, to continue the stringent and fool proof revised mechanism of FMR with the biometric being stringently applied”.
Manipur has been rocked by violent ethnic conflict since May 2023.
The conflict between the non-tribal Meiteis, who are predominantly Hindu, and the tribal Kuki-Zo community, mostly Christian, has resulted in at least 250 deaths and the internal displacement of approximately 60,000 people.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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