Four days after N Biren Singh stepped down as Chief Minister, the home ministry imposed President’s Rule over Manipur on Thursday. The state assembly has been put into suspended animation, a new phase in the current crisis started with ethnic violence since May 2023.
President Droupadi Murmu’s decision came shortly after both Houses of Parliament adjourned until March 10 for the remainder of the Budget session. The proclamation followed a report from Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla, detailing the volatile situation in the state.
Ahead of the imposition of President’s Rule, security agencies implemented a comprehensive plan to monitor the situation and prevent any disturbances. State police and intelligence forces carefully surveilled the movements of some people in order to maintain stability.
The impeachment of the BJP-governed state government on February 9 was a pivotal moment. |Chief Minister| Biren Singh| resigned shortly after|He| came back to Imphal| after| a visit to| New Delhi| where he| had consultations| with| the| Union Home Minister| Amit Shah| and| the| BJP President| J P Nadda|. After his departure, Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla revoked an earlier order calling the Manipur Assembly session on 10 February2.
Conventionally, the congress party stated its desire to file a no-confide notice against Singh’s government. In the 60-seat Manipur Assembly—where elections are not set until 2027—the sitting number was 59, following the recent death of NPP MLA N Kayisii. The BJP held 37 seats, NPP had 6, NPF 5, Congress 5, Kuki People’s Alliance 2, JDU 1, and three were independents. KPA and NPP had initially endorsed the government, but both retracted their endorsement after the outbreak of violence. Nonetheless, at the very least two NPP MLAs still maintained their support for Singh even after the party leadership dissociated itself.
As per the notification issued by the Union Home Ministry on Thursday evening, the President has received a report from the Governor and after due consideration, decided that the state government could no longer function as per the constitutional provisions. The notification ordered the invocation of Article 356 of the Constitution, under which the President can take over all functions of the state government and legislative powers of the state.
According to the proclamation, the President will control all state government activities, and the legislative power of the Manipur Assembly will be exercised with the assistance of Parliament.
The turn comes on the heels of three days of discussion orchestrated by BJP’s Northeast convener Sambit Patra who convened party MLAs and NDA partners, such as the Naga People’s Front (NPF) and the National People’s Party (NPP), to mediate on a new chief minister. But since an agreement could not be achieved the prospect of President’s Rule was much discussed, anticipated, by all. Some legislators had also supported the move, arguing that it would enable a thorough crackdown on armed groups operating in the hills and valleys of Manipur.
Although the ruling party has control of 37 of the 60 seats in the Assembly, internal disputes led to the proclamation of President’s Rule due to the party’s inability to name a substitute for Singh.
In the meantime, the opposing Congress party, however, did not support the decision, as it claimed to be a “very clear exhibit” of the ineffectiveness of the BJP-led government. Manipur Congress president K. Meghachandra Singh has objected to the decision and remarked that, “They have come to know that there was a complete failure when N Biren Singh was in charge and that the state is under total breakdown throughout the past 20 months. The Constitution and people’s will are not being respected.
By contrast, Kuki-Zo entities who had previously sought President’s Rule, accepted the finding. As claimed by Ginza Vualzong, spokesperson of the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) in Churachandpur, imposition of President’s Rule was better than directly nominating a new Chief Minister belonging to the Meitei group. The Kuki-Zo no longer believe in the Meitei and thus, another Meitei CM affords no peace of mind. President’s Rule affords us hope and takes us a step in an affirmative direction towards a political solution. We assume that through direct central rule, the foundation for the cessation of violence can be built, thereby establishing a climate conducive to dialogue, declared he.
With President’s Rule in place, the contours of the coming days will lie in restoring normalcy, addressing the grievances of different groups of people and setting the ground work for a sustainable political solution. The next few weeks will be pivotal in deciding whether this step provides a tenet to the volatile situation or deepens the current cleavages.
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