Biren Singh Resigns in Manipur

Finally the Manipur Chief Minister, N Biren Singh has resigned. This must now end the severe political crisis that has engulfed the North-Eastern state. The conflict had started with the ethno-religious conflict that emerged between the Kuki and Meitei communities. Both these communities have been living amid tensions in the state but for more than a year now this simmering erupted and took the open communal conflagration. The violence had reached the worst level, where the groups indulged in fighting involving the private armies. The form of violence that erupted led to religious cleansing and targeted killings. There was no visibility of the state machinery on the ground to control this violence in Manipur. This led to the internal displacement of the people in which Meitei were subjected to selected targeting for their religious affiliations. That assumed worst proportions because the violence has been patronised by the drug warlords and the evangelical groups .The writ of the state has been missing totally. Law and order has become the causality. It is in this backdrop that the resignation of N Biren Singh must be seen. Not only the ethnic groups of Manipur but his own cabinet colleagues had lost confidence in his leadership. He not only faced the opposition of the Kuki leaders but his popularity had met the all-time low among Meitei majority Imphal as well. State Govt has been openly responsible for failure to maintain law and order. As the collapse of the state machinery led to the lives and property of the innocent people. Loss of confidence in his leadership was evident last year when BJP MLA’s from Imphal approached the PMO and the party leadership to end this leadership crisis. They were openly asking for the replacement of the Chief Minister but the centre took its time. But things changed when the Budget Session of the Manipur Assembly was slated to begin on Monday .The voice for the leadership change reverberated with more intensity: dissident MLAs were ready for the no-confidence motion during the session in which the Congress was going to play the lead role. There was a clear division in the ruling party between the dissidents and loyalists of Biren Singh on Sunday. The things were destined to change the moment the Speaker of the Manipur Assembly Thokchom Satyabrata Singh visited New Delhi to meet the party President J P Nadda and apprised him about the mood of the house and the no confidence motion. He expressed his inability to avert the no confidence motion. Now the decks are clear, only the permutations and combinations in the Manipur Assembly and the internal situation of the BJP will tell as to what will unfold. Now that the Biren Singh has made an exit there is a need to overhaul the bureaucracy and police apparatus to bring the law and order on track and allow the people some respite who are facing ethno-religious conflict from 2023.New Delhi must rush to the rescue of the people and make every possible attempt to install a stable and acceptable government .The reins of power must be held by a person who has an ear to the ground and knows the nuances of the social and ethnic fabric of Manipur. The patronage of the terror groups and narco peddlers must end if the state is to be brought to normalcy.