Manipur MLAs meet governor, offer to form govt
Imphal: At least 44 MLAs are ready to form a new popular government in Manipur, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Thokchom Radheshyam Singh said on Wednesday after meeting Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla.
Manipur has been under the President's Rule since February 13, four days after BJP leader N Biren Singh resigned as the chief minister, amid criticisms about his government's handling of the ethnic clashes between Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities that broke out on May 3, 2023.
Talking to reporters outside the Raj Bhavan in Imphal, Singh said that he, along with nine other MLAs, met the governor to formally inform him of the support for a new government.
'Forty-four MLAs are ready to form a government as per the wishes of the people. We have conveyed this to the governor. We also discussed what solutions can be there for the issue,' he said. 'The governor noted what we had to say and will initiate actions in the best interests of the people.'
On a question whether they would stake a claim to form the government, Singh said the BJP central leadership will take a decision on staking claim to form the government. He, however, added that to inform the governor that 'we are ready is similar to staking a claim' to form a government.
Singh also said that assembly Speaker Th Satyabrata has individually and jointly met the 44 MLAs, who have expressed willingness to form the government. Th Satyabrata left for New Delhi in the afternoon.
The meeting came hours after former CM Biren Singh met the governor at Raj Bhavan on Tuesday evening.
'People are facing too much hardship. In the previous term, two years were lost due to Covid, and in this term, another two years have been lost due to the conflict (ethnic violence),' he said.
The 60-member Manipur assembly currently has 59 MLAs following the death of a legislator. Except the five Congress MLAs and 10 Kuki-Zo legislators, which include seven from the BJP, remaining 44 MLAs are likely to be part of the BJP-led coalition.
Independent MLA Nishikant Singh Sapam, who was also part of the group of legislators that met the governor on Wednesday, said they have submitted a letter signed by 22 MLAs that they had previously sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah last month urging them to form a 'popular government' in the state.
'Some of the MLAs could not reach here, but all are interested in forming a popular government,' Sapam told reporters.
A person familiar with the matter told HT that while the MLAs are in favour of forming a government, 'the issue of leadership will be decided after the government formation.'
Meanwhile, state Congress president K Meghachandra questioned the BJP-led coalition's move without clarity on leadership.
'The approach is hollow. The process to claim the formation of a government is also flawed. Without the appointment of a legislature leader, how can they stake a claim to form the government? That is a key question,' he said.
Alleging that the proposed move was a result of 'pressure from civil society organisations', the Congress leader added: 'They may have the numbers, but they have no guts to form a government. That's the crisis we are facing in the state. The so-called double engine government in Manipur has failed, even under President's Rule. For over two years, no effective steps have been taken to restore peace in Manipur through constitutional means.'
The development comes amid massive protests in the Meitei-inhabited Imphal Valley over alleged removal of 'Manipur' name written on the windshield of a government bus by security forces in Gwaltabi on May 20. Meitei groups have been demanding an apology from the governor over the incident and the resignation of the chief secretary, DGP, and security advisor.
The incident has added to the tensions, which were waning in recent months because of a slew of measures being taken by the Centre to bring back peace to the northeastern state.
At least 250 people died and 60,000 were rendered homeless in the ethnic clashes between Kuki-Zo and Meitei groups that started in May 2023. Since the beginning of the strife, Meitei groups maintain that the territorial integrity of the state is non-negotiable in any peace process, while the Kuki-Zo outfits assert that the only solution to resolve the crisis is creating a separate administration for the hill districts where they live.
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