Manipur: 21 NDA MLAs urge Amit Shah to restore ‘popular government’

Twenty-one MLAs from Manipur – all members of National Democratic Alliance parties – on Tuesday wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah urging him to restore a “popular government” in the state.

This is the “only means to bring peace and normalcy” to the state, they wrote.

The letter came more than two months after President’s Rule was imposed in Manipur on February 13 after the resignation of Chief Minister N Biren Singh.

Manipur has been mired in ethnic conflict between the Meitei and the Kuki-Zomi-Hmar communities that broke out in May 2023. The violence has since left at least 258 dead and displaced more than 59,000.

“The people of Manipur welcomed the President’s Rule...with lots of hope and expectation,” the MLAs wrote to Shah. “However, it’s going to be three months, but no visible actions to bring peace and normalcy have been seen so far.”

The MLAs said they were being blamed by civil society organisations “for not staking claim to form a popular government and fixing responsibility for the imposition of PR (President’s Rule) in the state”.

“We, therefore request you to kindly take necessary steps to install a popular government in Manipur at the earliest,” said the MLAs. “We assure you we will work with full dedication and devotion to bring peace and...

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