Manipur Governor avoids protestors, travels 7 km in chopper
Protestors seeking an apology from Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla made him travel about 7 km in a chopper to reach the Raj Bhavan from Imphal's Tulihal Airport on Monday (May 26, 2025).
Hundreds of protestors had formed a human chain from the airport's departure gate to the Keishampat Junction near the Raj Bhavan, holding placards displaying slogans such as 'Manipur's identity is non-negotiable'.
Straight as an arrow, the airport road bends slightly off the main entrance to the Raj Bhavan opposite the historic Kangla Fort, the central part of Imphal.
After landing at the airport during the day from New Delhi, where he attended the Rising Northeast Investors Summit, the Governor boarded an Army chopper to avoid the protestors. The chopper touched down at a helipad in the Kangla Fort complex.
From the helipad, the Governor was driven about 300 metres to the Raj Bhavan amid heightened security.
The Governor has been administering Manipur since the President's Rule was imposed on February 13, days after Nongthombam Biren Singh resigned as the Chief Minister. Congress alluded to his short-distance chopper trip to underline the situation in the conflict-scarred State.
'President's Rule appears to have made no difference whatsoever in Manipur. Today, the Governor had to take a helicopter from the airport in Imphal to Kangla Fort in order to reach his residence,' senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said.
'Meanwhile, the Prime Minister is busy giving filmi dialogues in different parts of the country and politicising Operation Sindoor while continuing to ignore Manipur. The Union Home Minister has failed most miserably and should resign for his total failure to bring a semblance of normalcy in Manipur, which he has been managing,' he added.
On Sunday, the Meitei organisation Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) announced mass protests, rallies, torch processions, and sit-ins against the bid to 'undermine the identity of Manipur, its name, pride, and respect'.
This was in reference to security personnel allegedly making members of a media team and State officials mask 'Manipur State Transport' on a bus carrying them to the Naga-dominated Ukhrul to cover the Shirui Lily Festival on May 20.
The government ordered an investigation into the incident, but the COCOMI was adamant about an apology from the Governor for the bus incident. The organisation also demanded the resignation of Chief Secretary P.K. Singh, Security Advisor Kuldiep Singh and Director-General of Police Rajiv Singh, holding them responsible for the incident which 'undermined the identity of Manipur, its name, pride and respect'.
A COCOMI team is expected to attend a meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday with officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs to find a way out of the crisis in Manipur.
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