Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s meeting with MLAs from the Naga community of Manipur has sparked a controversy over the absence of Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh. Shah met the MLAs, along with Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, but Khemchand Singh was not anywhere in sight, prompting the Congress to question why Rio led the delegation of Manipur MLAs and not Singh.
The meeting, held in New Delhi, was attended by Nagaland deputy chief minister Yanthungo Patton and T R Zeliang. A post by the Home Ministers office said they discussed issues related to security, development and inter-state relations with the home minister.
Singh later claimed the meeting was also attended by the Manipur deputy chief minister, Losii Dikho, though there was no official confirmation whether Dikho had attended the meeting in New Delhi. The Congress raised the issue, with opposition leader K Meghachandra Singh claiming that a recent meeting of Naga MLAs from the state with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in the presence of Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio and others, undermined the authority of the Manipur chief minister's office.
Meghachandra Singh said: “If matters concerning Manipur were discussed, people may naturally ask why such engagement was not conducted under the leadership of, or with the direct participation of, the CM. How could a meeting between Manipur Naga MLAs and the Union Home Minister be conducted without the presence of CM Y Khemchand Singh,” he questioned.
He also asked how the CM could allow such a meeting, alleging that it undermined the dignity and authority of his office.
Meghchandra said, "This meeting shows that Deputy Chief Minister Losi Dikho and the Naga MLAs do not trust their own Chief Minister. That is why he came to meet the Naga MLAs directly without the Chief Minister." He also questioned the Nagaland Chief Minister's presence at the meeting. He said that the state should be governed by the state's elected representatives, not by the Chief Minister of a neighboring state. Why did the Nagaland Chief Minister lead the delegation of Manipur MLAs?
