IMPHAL/NEW DELHI: The northeastern hill state of Manipur – rocked by violence for around two years and staring at a constitutional crisis — was brought under President’s Rule this evening, days after its Chief Minister, N Biren Singh, stepped down ahead of a Congress threat of a no-confidence motion and floor test. This is the 11th time President’s Rule has been declared in the state since 1951.
A communique from the office of President Droupadi Murmu said after receiving a report from Governor Ajay Bhalla and “after considering the report and other information received by me, 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”.
The move by the Centre came as the state BJP failed to come to a consensus on the Chief Ministerial candidate and the assembly could not be convened.
Biren Singh had stepped down amid massive dissidence. He submitted his resignation to the Governor on Sunday after meeting the Central leadership in Delhi.
The BJP’s northeast in-charge, Sambit Patra, has been holding discussions in Imphal with MLAs from the party, but sources said despite initial signs of a breakthrough on Tuesday, no decision could be arrived at.
The BJP was hoping to pick a Chief Minister after Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned from his visit to the US.
But meanwhile, the gap in the convening of state assembly threatened to pass the constitutionally approved maximum time of six months.
Article 174(1) of the Constitution says that state Assemblies have to be convened no later than six months after their last sitting.
In the case of Manipur, the last sitting was on August 12, 2024. The budget session of the assembly, that was expected to begin on Monday, had to be postponed indefinitely after the Chief Minister and his Council of Ministers stepped down.
The deadline for convening the Assembly was today and in the evening, President’s Rule had to be declared in the state.
11th Time Since 1951
Sambit Patra clarified that the state assembly is under suspended animation and has not been dissolved.
This makes it the 11th time Article 356 of the Indian Constitution has been imposed in the northeastern state.
The last imposition of President’s Rule in Manipur began from June 2, 2001 and ended on March 6, 2002, lasting for 277 days.
With President’s Rule clamped on Manipur now, the state’s residents finds themselves under Union government’s direct rule after 23 years.
“The assembly will remain in suspended animation and once the situation improves again assembly will function,” pointed out state BJP chief A Sarda Devi.
Shadow of Violence
Manipur has been witnessing ethnic conflict between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities since May 2023, in which more than 200 people have lost their lives. The state is still far from returning to normalcy.
The long-drawn violence sparked a huge political firestorm amid continuous political pressure from the state’s Opposition Congress which accused the Central and the state governments of taking no step to bring the situation under control and reassure the people. The party also made repeated demands for the Chief Minister’s resignation.
In November, Conrad Sangma’s National People’s Party, which had 7 MLAs, withdrew support from the government.
While BJP had the numbers to override any crisis — 32 in the 60-member assembly, caught between the political pressure and public anger, around 12 BJP MLAs started pushing for a change in leadership.
What aggravated the situation were a few leaked audio tapes, which, the Congress claimed, proved that then Chief Minister Biren Singh had instigated the violence. Non-profit private forensic laboratory Truth Labs confirmed that 93 per cent of the audio tapes matched Mr Singh’s voice. The matter reached the Supreme Court, which has sought a report from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory on the leaked audio tapes.
In face of the pressure, Singh stepped down on Sunday, raising cheers from the Congress camp which called it a vindication of their demand.
“Finally,” Says Congress
“The imposition of President’s Rule in Manipur is a belated admission by the BJP of their complete inability to govern in Manipur,” posted Congress’s Rahul Gandhi.
“Finally what the Indian National Congress has been demanding for almost 20 months has happened. President’s Rule has been imposed in Manipur,” read a post by senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh.