President’s rule in Manipur after 2 years of ethnic strife

President’s rule was imposed in the strife-torn Manipur on Thursday, four days after N Biren Singh resigned as the Chief Minister of the state. This is the 11th time since 1951 that Manipur has come under the direct control of the Centre.

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The announcement comes as the state BJP failed to reach a consensus on the successor to Biren Singh and the six-month period within which the Assembly must convene lapsed on February 12. The Manipur Assembly, having a tenure till 2027, has been put under suspended animation, said a notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

CRPF man shoots 2, kills self at camp

Imphal: A CRPF havildar allegedly killed two of his colleagues and injured eight others before taking his own life at a camp in Lamphel in Manipur’s Imphal West district on Thursday, official sources said. Sanjay Kumar from 120th Battalion opened fire from his weapon killing a constable and a sub-inspector. He later turned the gun on himself. The injured have been shifted to a hospital. The cause of the incident is being investigated.

Govt to blame for state’s situation: Congress

The Congress said it had been demanding imposition of President’s rule in strife-torn Manipur for the past 20 months and the Central Government did so only after the fabric of state’s society was allowed to be “severely damaged”.

A communique from the office of President Droupadi Murmu said that after considering Governor Ajay Bhalla’s report and other information, “I am satisfied that a situation has arisen in which the government of that state cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of India.”

As per Article 174(1) of the Constitution, state Assemblies must convene within six months of their last sitting. In Manipur, the last Assembly session had been convened on August 12, 2024, thereby setting February 12 as the deadline for the next session. However, Governor Bhalla had revoked the order of convening the Budget session scheduled for February 10 just hours after Singh had resigned on February 9.

Singh’s resignation had come on the eve of a no-confidence motion and an anticipated floor test, which the Congress had planned to bring during the Budget session. His decision to step down followed nearly two years of ethnic unrest in Manipur that began in May 2023. During this period, he faced sustained opposition even from his own party colleagues and ministers.

The decision to impose President’s rule by the BJP-led Centre came as the party failed to have a consensus chief ministerial candidate despite having several rounds of discussions between the party’s northeast in-charge Sambit Patra and party legislators.

Patra had met Bhalla a few times before Thursday’s decision by the Central government that comes at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in the US.

Reacting to the development, the Congress said it had been demanding imposition of President’s rule in the state for the past 20 months and the Central government did so only after the fabric of state’s society was allowed to be “severely damaged”.

(With PTI inputs)