|
Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh resigned from his post on Sunday nearly two years after the violence started in the state, sparking criticism from Congress who blamed PM Narendra Modi for "allowing him to continue", and urged the PM to visit the state and hear the "stories of horror from the people."
Singh tendered his resignation to Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla in the presence of BJP president A Sharda, BJP's North East Manipur in-charge Sambit Patra, along with at least 19 MLAs. "It has been an honour to serve the people of Manipur so far," Singh said in his resignation letter, adding "I am extremely grateful to the Central government for timely actions, interventions, developmental work and implementation of various projects for safeguarding the interest of every single Manipuri. Following his resignation, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said it came amid mounting pressure from public, Supreme Court and Congress. Gandhi also accused Biren Singh of "instigating" division in Manipur and blamed PM Narendra Modi for "allowing him to continue." "The resignation of CM Biren Singh shows that mounting public pressure, the SC investigation and the no-confidence motion by the Congress have forced a reckoning," Gandhi added. Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh claimed that Congress was set to move no-confidence motion tomorrow so Singh 'compulsively' tendered resignation. "You need to understand the chronology. Tomorrow, the Congress party was going to move a no-confidence motion in the Manipur assembly. Manipur CM realised that he does not have the majority...so he tendered his resignation today. It was his compulsion...There is an atmosphere of fear in Manipur" Jairam Ramesh told ANI. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge emphasised that "The resignation of BJP's Manipur CM is like shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted!" "Their rank incompetence and utter disregard for Rajdharma resulted in at least 258 people having died, more than 5,600 arms & 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," Kharge wrote on X. Further targeting PM Modi for not visiting Manipur, he urged him to visit the state and hear the "stories of horror" from the people. "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 CM has belatedly resigned, we hope and urge him to visit Manipur and hear the stories of horror from the people. Congress party's no-confidence motion, mounting public pressure, and the Supreme Court investigation has resulted in the discredited CM's resignation. Thank goodness that this time it's not a 2023-like-resignation-drama, and better sense has prevailed!" Kharge said. Congress General Secretary Venugopal too slammed Biren Singh saying that it was "evident" he was "unfit" for his post. He also targeted central government for "shielding" Biren Singh despite growing demands for his removal over Manipur violence. "Since May 2023, it was clear to the entire world that N. Biren Singh's position as Manipur CM was untenable. It was also evident that he was unfit to remain in his post, yet the Central Government continued to shield him despite growing demands for his removal," Venugopal wrote on X. Congress' Rashid Alvi welcomed his resignation and said even party MLAs were against him "More than 20 BJP MLAs were against him. The law and order situation in Manipur was deteriorating day by day. What was the compulsion of the BJP that the CM was not removed from his post earlier?...It is the responsibility of the BJP to send a competent person there who can take the responsibility of improving the situation there," Alvi said. Congress MP from Inner Manipur, A. Bimol Akoijam said "I think what people of Manipur deserve is a responsible government who can deal with the situations. The economy has been destroyed. So many lives have been lost and thousands of people have still been linguistic in relief camps. We deserve a responsible government." Notably,The violence between the Meitei and the Kuki communities in Manipur erupted after a rally by the All Tribal Students Union of Manipur (ATSUM) on May 3, 2023, following the Manipur High Court order directing the state to consider the inclusion of the Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribes list. (ANI)
|
