Opposition leaders on Sunday said N Biren Singh’s resignation as Manipur chief minister was a decision too late and urged the Union government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make immediate intervention to end the ethnic tensions that have claimed at least 250 lives, displaced 60,000 people and upended normal life for close to two years in the region.
Leaders from the Kuki-Zo and Meitei communities – who are on the two sides of the ethnic divide – saw little meaningful change from Singh’s exit.
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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said Singh had “instigated division in Manipur” during his tenure. “PM Modi allowed him to continue despite the violence, loss of life, and the destruction of the idea of India in Manipur,” Gandhi wrote on X.
The Congress leader demanded immediate intervention from the PM. “The most urgent priority is to restore peace in the state and work to heal the wounds of the people of Manipur. PM Modi must visit Manipur at once, listen to the people and finally explain his plan to bring back normalcy.”
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said Singh’s resignation “is like shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted.”
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“For 21 months, the BJP ignited a fire in Manipur and left the people across communities to fend for themselves,” he added.
He pointed to Modi’s absence from the state during the crisis. “Modi ji has not stepped on Manipur’s soil since his last election campaign in January 2022, although he had time to visit several foreign countries in between,” he said.
Communist Party of India general secretary D Raja said the resignation marked “the acceptance of the complete failure of the BJP’s so-called ‘double engine’ government.” He called for “engaging all stakeholders and political parties in Manipur to work toward lasting peace.”
The Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF), which has spearheaded the Kuki-Zo community’s demands, said Singh’s departure wouldn’t alter their fundamental position. “Whether Biren Singh is CM or not, our demand for separate administration remains the same. The Meitei people have separated us and there’s no going back,” said ITLF spokesperson Ginza Vualzong.
Vualzong suggested Singh’s resignation was prompted by political calculations. “We believe he knew he would be voted out in the ‘no confidence’ voting in the Manipur Assembly, and to save his face, he must have submitted his resignation. Also, with his audio tape leaked being taken up by the Supreme Court, I guess this time, even the BJP government can’t do much to save him.”
Jeetendra Ningomba, former coordinator of the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity, a prominent Meitei organisation, said: “I don’t think it was the right time for Singh to tender his resignation. The move will strengthen Kuki separatist forces in Manipur. The Centre has failed to address the crisis in Manipur effectively and Singh’s resignation is another instance of that.”
Kuki National Organisation spokesperson Seilen Haokip saw potential for progress in peace talks. “The outgoing CM was non-cooperative to the Centre’s position of ‘peace first and settlement next’,” he said. “Now that there is possibility of change in leadership at Imphal, the prospects of the tripartite dialogue to resume appears positive.”
K Meghachandra Singh, president of Manipur Congress, said the resignation was prompted by their planned no-confidence motion and disqualification petitions against nine MLAs who had switched to the BJP after the 2022 election. “Our disqualification petitions against the 9 MLAs and the threat of no-confidence motion led to divisions within the ruling BJP that finally forced the CM to resign,” he said.