Biren Singh ‘instigated division’ in Manipur, resignation ‘belated’: Congress
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Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi during a meeting with party leaders. (Congress-X)
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh's resignation on Sunday was long overdue and amounted to “shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted,” the Congress said, holding him responsible for the state's prolonged ethnic turmoil.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of allowing Manipur to burn for 21 months while leaving communities to fend for themselves. He directly blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for ignoring the crisis.
“Modi ji is the real culprit of this disdain and apathy,” Kharge wrote on social media. “He has forgotten that Manipur is a part of India. It is high time he rejigs his memory and locates the state of Manipur on the map of India!”
Singh resigned as chief minister amid mounting criticism from Kuki-Zomi-Hmar groups, who accused him of a biased response to the ethnic violence and of stoking majoritarianism. The conflict between the Meitei and Kuki-Zomi-Hmar communities, ongoing since May 2023, has resulted in at least 258 deaths and displaced over 59,000 people.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said Singh’s resignation was a result of overwhelming public pressure, a Supreme Court investigation, and a no-confidence motion by the Congress.
The chief minister instigated violence in Manipur and has now been forced to resign," Gandhi said, stressing that restoring peace must be the government’s top priority. He demanded that the Prime Minister should “explain his plan to bring back normalcy".
Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said the party was set to move a no-confidence motion against Singh in the Manipur Assembly on Monday. He also reiterated the Opposition’s longstanding demand for the prime minister to visit Manipur.
“The chief minister’s resignation was belated,” Ramesh said on social media. “The people of Manipur now await a visit by our Frequent Flier Prime Minister, who is off to France and the USA – and who has found neither the time nor the inclination to go to Manipur these past twenty months.”
For nearly two years, Kuki-Zomi-Hmar groups have called for Singh’s removal, alleging that his policies favored the Meitei community and worsened the ethnic conflict.
On February 3, the Supreme Court ordered the Central Forensic Science Laboratory to submit a sealed report on audio clips allegedly linking Singh to the violence.
The directive followed a petition by the Kuki Organization for Human Rights Trust, which sought an independent probe into the recordings. The petitioners claimed the tapes featured Singh taking credit for "how and why the conflict started."
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing the organization, told the court that independent forensic analysis by Truth Labs had verified with 93% certainty that the voice in the recordings belonged to the chief minister.
With Singh’s exit, the political fallout continues, while the crisis in Manipur remains unresolved.