President’s Rule for another 6 months in Manipur, Amit Shah to move resolution in Rajya Sabha today

This move to extend President’s Rule comes even as the state’s Meitei and Naga NDA MLAs have been conducting a months-long campaign pushing for the restoration of a popular government in the state.

President’s Rule had been imposed in Manipur on February 13, days after former Chief Minister N Biren Singh stepped down from the position, primarily as a result of political pressure from other BJP MLAs from the Meitei community who were dissenting against his leadership.

In the last Parliament session, Shah had said that the move to introduce President’s Rule had been taken as no one had staked a claim to lead the government after Singh’s resignation. However, since April, NDA MLAs – including Singh, legislators close to him, as well as those who dissented against him – have been pushing for the restoration of a “popular” government, citing the lack of support for President’s Rule and the perception that there has not been enough movement towards the restoration of normalcy in the state.

The move to extend President’s Rule in the state is likely to cause further discontent among the Meitei and Naga MLAs.

There have been months of relative peace in the foothill areas where the Meitei-majority Valley meets the Kuki-Zo majority hills, which had been among the worst-affected parts of Manipur in the ongoing conflict. The last major cycle of violence between the communities had taken place in November last year.

In the past month, there have been three significant weapons recoveries by security forces in the state, and the government has expressed its intent to facilitate the return to their homes of a large section of people displaced by the violence by the end of the year. However, more than 26 months since the start of the conflict, there has been no significant headway on dialogue between stakeholders of the Meitei and the Kuki-Zo communities.