New Delhi: Chief Minister N. Biren Singh managed to carry his BJP-led coalition government in Manipur through choppy waters by shoring up support and winning a trust vote in the northeastern state’s assembly late on Monday evening.
The Manipur state unit of the Congress had filed a petition for no-confidence against the state government in the 60-member Manipur State Assembly over the demand of handing over a drug haul case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Though Assembly Speaker Yumnam Khemchand rejected the Congress no-confidence petition, he allowed a counter-petition by Chief Minister Biren Singh filed on last Friday for a trust motion.
The 60-member Manipur Assembly has an effective strength of 53 legislators with four MLAs disqualified under anti-defection laws and the resignations from the Assembly of three BJP MLAs being accepted by the Speaker.
The BJP-led coalition has 29 legislators including from the National People’s Party (NPP), the Naga People’s Front (NPF), a TMC legislator and an Independent MLA, while the Congress and its silent supporters from the government has 24.
However, according to reports, eight MLAs from the Congress abstained from Monday’s vote helping Biren Singh to keep his government stable in the highly volatile politics of the northeastern state.
Read:| BJP, Congress leaders on toes as Manipur MLAs to participate in trust vote in Assembly
Monday’s trust vote win has helped Chief Minister Biren Singh retain the trust reposed on him by the BJP central leadership.
In June, three BJP MLAs resigned from the party and joined the Congress and the NPP threatened to pull out of the government putting the Biren Singh government in jeopardy. The crisis came to an end only after the intervention of the BJP’s chief trouble-shooter in the Northeast and Convenor of the Northeast Democratic Alliance (NEDA) Himanta Biswa Sarma and Meghalaya Chief Minister and NPP supremo Conrad Sangma.
Then, in July, the Congress issued show-cause notices to two of its MLAs, R.K. Imo and Okram Henry, as they had voted for BJP candidate Leisemba Sanajaoba, a former Manipur royal, in the Rajya Sabha elections. While Imo is the son of former Congress Chief Minister R.K. Jaichandra Singh and son-in-law of current Chief Minister Biren Singh, Henry is the nephew of former Congress Chief Minister and CLP leader Okram Ibobi Singh.
According to reports, there has been a growing rift between Imo and Ibobi Singh with the latter perceiving the former as a threat within the party. Imo also happens to be a Congress MLA but a BJP chief minister’s son-in-law.
On the other hand, Chief Minister Biren Singh was also facing a revolt from within his party with another chief minister aspirant Th Bishwajit Singh sitting in opposition against him. Last year, an attempt to remove Biren Singh was thwarted with the BJP central leadership coming out in his support.
Read:| Row over Manipur CM's naming of disqualified MLA as adviser
The Congress decided to move a no-trust petition against the government in the wake of an affidavit filed by police officer Th Brinda in the Manipur High Court in July in connection with the drug haul case. The case involves Lhukosei Zou, a former chairman of the Chandel Autonomous District Council (ADC), who had joined the BJP after the party came to power in the state.
In 2018, Brinda, now Additional Superintendent of Police, Narcotics and Affairs of Border (NAB), had recovered a consignment of drugs and old currency notes from the official quarter of Zou.
However, in her affidavit filed earlier this month, Brinda said that Chief Minister Biren Singh has pressurised her to release Zou and withdraw the charge sheet against him and others in the case. The Chief Minister has dismissed these allegations outright.
Ever since the drug haul, the Congress has been demanding that the case be handed over to the CBI. With Brinda filing the affidavit, the party then decided to move ahead with the no-confidence motion.
Now, following Monday’s trust vote victory, Chief Minister Biren Singh has proved that he is astute in handling the deep conundrum of Manipur’s politics.
(Article by Aroonim Bhuyan)
