GUWAHATI: Three days on since N Biren Singh resigned as Manipur Chief Minister but BJP has not named his successor yet, intensifying speculation about the imposition of President’s rule in the state.
BJP’s Northeast in-charge Sambit Patra met Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla on Wednesday. It was his third visit to the Raj Bhavan in four days.
Patra met several MLAs for the third straight day. BJP’s Karam Shyam claimed that there was no constitutional crisis in the state. “I don’t know about President’s rule. I think that the problem will be solved by the Centre with the help of the legislators. There is no constitutional crisis in Manipur,” the MLA said.
When asked if the name of the new chief minister will be announced by Wednesday, he said, “I don’t believe it.”
Another MLA said, “The Assembly will be kept in suspended animation. The government will be formed when some sort of normalcy returns. We are mentally prepared for it.”
Former Manipur Speaker and Congress MLA Thokchom Lokeshwar wondered if Patra was in the state to resolve the political crisis or for some other reasons. He lamented that the state government did not convene a session of the Assembly, thereby leaving people in the dark on many pertinent issues.
There is a perception that the BJP would resolve the political crisis in the state following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s return from abroad.
The All Manipur United Clubs organisation said the Centre was free to take any decision as deemed fit to resolve the Manipur political crisis but it must not hurt the state’s territorial integrity. The organisation warned that it would not sit idle if there was a threat to the territorial integrity.