Capping days of speculations following the resignation of Chief Minister Biren Singh, the Centre on Thursday imposed the President's Rule in the strife-torn state of Manipur. The move came as the BJP leadership could not arrive at a consensus on the next Chief Minister.
Security situation
Defence expert Colonel Navinder Narang (Retd)believes the party had no option but to impose the President's rule in the state considering the difficult circumstances in Manipur.
"The people were divided between the hills and the valley. The security agencies were facing questions and their morale was falling. It will now be easier for the Army to carry out operations. If there were obstacles before the imposition of the President's rule, now all of them are over. Now, everyone will have to cooperate in the interest of the country,"Colonel Narang told Amar Ujala.
Colonel Narang added that the government had to take concrete steps, and finally, it did.
Ministers upset at Biren
Meanwhile, speculations were that many MLAs, including ministers, were angry at Biren Singh. Their ire was such that the state's Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Y Khemchand and BJP MLAs from the Kuki community outrightly refused to attend the meetings called by Biren Singh for the last one-and-a-half years.
All these leaders were in touch with the central leadership instead of the state. Recently, a few BJP ministers and MLAs of the Naga People's Front (BJP's ally) met JP Nadda in Delhi.
The things were so bad that even within the BJP, there were infightings. Over 10 MLAs informed the Centre that they were planning to sit in the opposition. When Biren went to the Raj Bhavan to tender his resignation, less than 20 MLAs accompanied him.
The assembly session was to begin in Manipur on February 10 and the Congress was preparing to bring a no-confidence motion against N Biren Singh.
New CM could not be decided
There was no consensus among the state BJP leadership that a new CM could not be elected. While 10 Kuki MLAs had demanded the removal of N Biren Singh from the post of CM, seven of them were from the BJP, including two ministers. There were so many differences among the MLAs in Manipur that 19 BJP MLAs wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking the removal of Biren Singh. After Biren's resignation, though the High Command promised to resolve the issues and find a new chief minister, that didn't happen.
BJP's Northeast in-charge and MP Sambit Patra has held several meetings with party MLAs and Governor Ajay Bhalla for the last four days, but the name of the new CM could not be decided.
