NEW DELHI: The Congress on Sunday criticised the timing of Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh’s resignation, arguing that his removal should have happened earlier to prevent the deepening crisis in the state.
Reacting to Singh’s resignation, Congress leader Udit Raj said, “When the Congress party was demanding him to be removed at the right time then he was not removed… A rift has been created between the two communities forever. This govt should not be there for such a long time. Removing the CM after everything was ruined does not make any sense.”
Singh tendered his resignation to Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla at Raj Bhavan in Imphal on Sunday, accompanied by 14 MLAs from the BJP and NPF. State BJP president A Sharda and senior party leader Sambit Patra were also present.
In his resignation letter, Singh stated, “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 Manipuri.”
His resignation comes just hours after he returned from Delhi, where he met Union home minister Amit Shah.
On Saturday, Singh had convened a meeting with BJP-led ruling alliance MLAs at the CM Secretariat ahead of the upcoming assembly session starting on February 10. The meeting was held amid the opposition Congress’s move to bring a no-confidence motion against his government.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh accused Singh of stepping down only when his position became untenable. In a post on X he said, “The Congress was all set to move a no-confidence motion against the Chief Minister and his Council of Ministers in the Manipur Assembly tomorrow. Sensing the climate, the Manipur CM has just resigned. This was a demand that the Congress has been making since early May 2023, when Manipur erupted. The CM’s resignation was belated. The people of Manipur now await a visit by our Frequent Flier PM who is off to France and the USA now – and who has found neither the time nor the inclination to go to Manipur these past twenty months.”
Meanwhile, Congress MP Imran Masood said, “He is resigning today after the death of so many people, after creating a divide between two communities. Now The Central Govt needs to interfere and work to stabilise the situation there. Centre should work as a bridge between the two communities and peace should be established there.”
