Public have lost faith in present govt: Group of Manipur BJP MLAs to PM

In April, four of them – Karam Shyam Singh, Th Radheshyam Singh, S Brojen Singh and Kh Raghumani Singh – had resigned from various administrative and advisory positions in the government, leading to speculation on discord brewing in the N Biren Singh-led regime.

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh. (PTI)

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Nine Meitei MLAs – eight from the BJP and an Independent supporting the Manipur government – Monday submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister’s Office, highlighting that the “public have lost complete faith in the present state government”.

While this happened on the same day that a separate delegation of 30 Meitei MLAs – mostly from the BJP and one each from the NPP and JD(U) – met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Delhi, Nishikant Singh Sapam, one of the nine MLAs, told The Indian Express that “the BJP is not a divided party” and the separate actions were because of “miscommunication”.

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The nine MLAs are Karam Shyam Singh, Th Radheshyam Singh, Nishikant Singh Sapam, Kh Raghumani Singh, S Brojen Singh, T Robindro Singh, S Rajen Singh, S Kebi Devi and Y Radheshyam.

In April, four of them – Karam Shyam Singh, Th Radheshyam Singh, S Brojen Singh and Kh Raghumani Singh – had resigned from various administrative and advisory positions in the government, leading to speculation on discord brewing in the N Biren Singh-led regime.

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“More than 100 innocent lives have been lost and valuable properties have been damaged due to the ongoing violence. Despite many steps that have been taken to bring the situation under control, not much improvement is seen on the ground. There is complete breakdown of law and order in the state,” states the memorandum submitted to the Prime Minister’s Office on Monday.

Stating that every community and every person wants restoration of peace, it states, “At present, there is no trust and confidence in the government and administration. Public has lost complete faith in the present state government. Some special measures for proper administration and function of the government by following the Rule of Law may kindly be resorted to so that the trust and confidence of the general public is restored.”

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Among the steps they have suggested is a meeting between Kuki and Meitei MLAs “to find a solution on the issues of the state by interacting and exchanging ideas”. Other suggestions are “proper deployment” of central paramilitary forces along with the state police; enforcement of ground rules for Kuki militant groups under Suspension of Operations; and “strong action to check the infiltration and involvement of Chinkuki Defense Force in the present violence”. They also stated that the demand for separate administration by any community (as is being demanded by the Kuki-Zomi community) “should not be considered at any cost”.

Sapam told The Indian Express that the action “looked very separate but it shouldn’t because we all want the welfare of Manipur”.

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“A day before the CM of Assam arrived in Manipur, 25 MLAs, including most of the ministers but not the CM, had a meeting in the Speaker’s chamber in the Manipur Legislative Assembly. There we had decided to go to Delhi because the pressure from the public was too much. The Speaker said let’s show this to the CM as he’s the leader of the house. It was shown but nothing came out of it… On 12th, I told the CM that I’m going to Delhi the next day because there was too much pressure on me,” he said.