BJP convenes meeting of Manipur lawmakers in Delhi on Sunday
Former chief minister N Biren Singh said all the BJP lawmakers have been asked to attend the meeting, even as they were not given the exact agenda
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has convened a meeting of the party’s Manipur lawmakers in Delhi on Sunday to discuss the situation of the ethnic violence-hit state.
Former chief minister N Biren Singh said all the BJP lawmakers have been asked to attend the meeting, even as they were not given the exact agenda. “...it might be for government formation. Most of us are going...”
Manipur has been under the President’s rule since February, when Singh’s government was dismissed as violence continued sporadically despite the deployment of thousands of security personnel.
The state’s Meitei and the Kuki-Zo communities have shut each other out from areas dominated by them since ethnic clashes began in May 2023 and left at least 260 people dead and displaced 60,000.
The clashes first began between the Meitei and Kuki communities. They later involved almost every community in the state.
A BJP lawmaker said the party’s northeast coordinator, Sambit Patra, called most of them and asked them to attend the meeting. “BJP state president A Sharda Devi also called some of the lawmakers regarding the meeting. She may also attend the meeting.” A person aware of the matter said that the BJP’s Kuki-Zo lawmakers have also been invited.
The state’s Kuki-Zo lawmakers, including seven from the BJP, have been demanding a separate administration before the formation of a new government.
The development coincided with President Droupadi Murmu’s two-day visit to Manipur. It is the second high-profile visit to the state since September, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Manipur for the first time since ethnic violence broke out.
