Chief minister of violence-hit Indian state of Manipur resigns

GUWAHATI, India - The chief minister of India’s north-eastern state of Manipur resigned on Feb 9, bowing to pressure to quit amid ongoing ethnic clashes that have cost at least 250 lives since violence broke out nearly two years ago.

Mr N. Biren Singh, a member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), submitted his resignation to the state’s governor in the capital city of Imphal, a day ahead of a scheduled legislative assembly session.

Local reports said the opposition Congress party was expected to move a no-confidence motion against Mr Singh.

The governor accepted his resignation and asked him to continue until alternate arrangements are made, according to a statement.

Mr Singh’s resignation follows intense sectarian clashes between the majority Meitei and minority Kuki communities over economic benefits and job quotas. The conflict has killed at least 250 people and displaced 60,000, with sporadic violence continuing.

Kuki groups have long accused him of bias towards the Meitei community, and have demanded his removal since the conflict began.

Mr Singh, a Meitei leader, had also been under increasing pressure from his own allies to step down. BJP lawmakers have periodically sought his resignation over his handling of the crisis.

In November, the regional National People’s Party – a key BJP ally in the state – withdrew from the ruling coalition, citing Mr Singh’s failure to resolve the crisis.

In his resignation letter, he thanked the federal government in Delhi for its efforts to protect Manipur’s interests and urged continued action to curb border infiltration and deport “illegal immigrants”.

Mr Singh and the federal government have partly blamed the violence on an influx of refugees from Myanmar following the 2021 military coup there.

Soon after Mr Singh resigned, Manipur BJP president Sharda Devi told reporters that the chief minister took the decision “in the interest of the people of Manipur”. REUTERS