- By Sahelee Rakshit
- Thu, 13 Feb 2025 07:52 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Manipur News: The Centre on Thursday imposed President's Rule in Manipur, which has been rocked by unrest. The announcement comes days after Manipur's chief minister, N Biren Singh, resigned on Sunday.
Singh made his decision over 21 months after ethnic violence ravaged the northeastern region, killing over 250 people and displacing thousands more.
Singh resigned on February 9, one day before the state assembly was supposed to meet for the budget session, which was canceled, and handed his resignation to Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla in the state capital, Imphal.
#WATCH | Imphal: President's Rule imposed in Manipur; visuals from outside the residence of former Manipur CM N Biren Singh pic.twitter.com/WkiDUh85ct
— ANI (@ANI) February 13, 2025
“It has been an honour to serve the people of Manipur thus far. I am extremely grateful to the central government for timely actions, interventions, developmental work and implementation of various projects for safeguarding the interests of every single Manipur,” Singh had said in his resignation letter.
Singh's resignation came five days after the Supreme Court ordered a central forensics lab to investigate leaked audio tapes in which he is believed to have stated that ethnic violence in the state was sparked at his behest.
Manipur's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs have been frantically searching for a replacement since Biren Singh resigned.
As the parliamentarians failed to reach a consensus on a replacement for Biren Singh, groups of BJP lawmakers met with Sambit Patra, the party's northeast coordinator, many times.
Conflicts that started between the Meitei and Kuki groups but have now spread over the whole state have claimed the lives of almost 250 individuals. Biren Singh is blamed by the Kuki community and the opposition for the increase in violence.
The BJP has also been accused by opposition parties of removing Singh "belatedly" in order to prevent the collapse of the administration and out of concern for Supreme Court condemnation.