What Makes Manipur CM N Biren Singh Hold His Ground Amid Calls For Stepping Down?

IMPHAL: As the over 80-day-long Meitei-Kuki ethnic violence in Manipur which has shaken the entire country threatens to spill over to the other northeastern states, Chief Minister N. Biren Singh is not willing to step down despite widespread calls for his resignation. Several opposition parties including the Congress and many Kuki-Zo tribal organizations have been demanding the Chief Minister's resignation and imposition of President's rule in Manipur to restore peace and normalcy in the northeastern state.

When asked about the possibility of Singh's resignation, Union Minister Pratima Bhowmik, who was one of the Central observers during last year's Manipur Assembly elections, said that why should he resign, violence in Manipur is extremely unfortunate but violence in West Bengal also shattered the lives of people in the Trinamool Congress ruled state.

“Violence against the women in Bengal crossed all limits. The Trinamool Congress failed to protect the lives and properties of innocent people,” Bhowmik told IANS. When media persons asked about his resignation, Biren Singh said : “I am not thinking on these lines. My priority is to bring peace and restore normalcy in the state.There are miscreants in every society but I will not spare them and they would ultimately get appropriate punishment.”

Political commentator Rajkumar Satyajit Singh said that though the continuation of Singh in the top post is affecting the image and credibility of the BJP, there is no better alternative leader than Singh to lead the BJP government in Manipur. “Singh belongs to the Meitei community, which dominates the electoral politics of Manipur. His popularity among the Meitei community is almost unchallengeable. Under his leadership the BJP with absolute majority returned to power in Manipur for a second term in last year's February-March assembly elections,” Satyajit Singh told IANS.

He opined that if Singh quit, then fresh political problems are likely to emerge for the BJP. Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's around three million population and live mostly in the valley regions while the tribal Nagas and Kukis constitute another 40 per cent of the population and reside in the hill districts.

A footballer, Biren Singh briefly served in the Border Security Force (BSF) before joining politics in 2002 and was a cabinet minister in the Congress led government till February 2012. The 62-year-old quit the Congress in 2016, and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2017. Before the ethnic violence between the non tribal Meiteis and the tribal Kukis began in Manipur on May 3, between April 13 and April 24 four BJP MLAs -- Thokchom Radheysham, Karam Shyam, Raghumani Singh and Paonam Brojen Singh -- quit the government expressing resentment against the CM.

The four BJP legislators were, respectively, the Chief Minister's advisor, and Chairman of the Manipur State Tourism Development Corporation, the Manipur Renewable Energy Development Agency and the Manipur Development Society. All the four MLAs claimed that they were not given due responsibility, funds and authority to function in their posts. Biren Singh, however, claimed that there were no differences of opinion and resentment among the legislators.

The issue was discussed in an "inconclusive" party meeting on April 27 in Imphal. The BJP's northeast coordinator and national spokesperson Sambit Patra and state BJP president A. Sharda Devi were present at the meeting. According to political analysts, the ongoing ethnic violence which broke out on May 3 after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status and has so far claimed over 160 lives, injured over 600 people of different communities and displaced over 70,000 people besides destroying a large number of properties and vehicles, is likely to affect the electoral prospects of the ruling BJP in Manipur. Amidst the ethnic violence, a section of BJP leaders and MLAs have been demanding the replacement of Biren Singh as the Chief Minister.

However, leaders and legislators close to the Chief Minister claimed that his (Biren Singh) efforts to curb the drug menace, illegal trade in drugs from Myanmar, illicit poppy cultivation and infiltration from across the border annoyed unscrupulous people and they are conspiring against him. On June 30, after day-long speculation and high drama, Biren Singh said that he would not resign at this “crucial juncture”.

Biren Singh, accompanied by several ministers and leaders, came out of his official bungalow on June 30 afternoon but when his cavalcade tried to move towards Raj Bhavan to meet Governor Anusuiya Uikey, thousands of people, mostly women, surrounded his car and forced him to return to his residence. Later he tweeted : “At this crucial juncture, I wish to clarify that I will not be resigning from the post of Chief Minister.”

Some media even displayed Singh's purported resignation letter addressed to the Governor. Manipur Health and Family Welfare Minister and government spokesman Sapam Ranjan Singh said that the huge crowds prevented the Chief Minister from going to the Raj Bhavan.