MANIPUR (Imphal): Four days after Chief Minister N Biren Singh resigned, the central government has placed Manipur under President’s Rule. This means the state assembly is now suspended. The decision comes as Manipur continues to struggle with ethnic violence that began in May 2023.

President Droupadi Murmu made this announcement after receiving a report from Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla. The decision was made public soon after both Houses of Parliament adjourned until March 10 for the rest of the Budget session.

Before imposing President’s Rule, security agencies created a plan to maintain peace. The state police and intelligence teams kept an eye on certain individuals to prevent any trouble.

The BJP-led government in Manipur fell on February 9 when Biren Singh resigned. He stepped down shortly after returning from New Delhi, where he had met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP President J P Nadda. Following his resignation, the Governor canceled a planned Assembly session that was supposed to happen on February 10.

The Congress had earlier threatened to bring a no-confidence motion against Singh’s government during this session.

Manipur’s Assembly has 60 seats, but one seat became vacant last month after NPP MLA N Kayisii passed away. Out of the 59 members, 37 were from the BJP, six from the NPP, five from the NPF, five from Congress, two from the Kuki People’s Alliance, one from JDU, and three were independents. The KPA and NPP had withdrawn their support from the government due to the ongoing violence, but at least two NPP MLAs still supported Biren Singh.

On Thursday evening, Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan issued a notification stating that the President had reviewed the Governor’s report and other information. Based on this, the President decided that the state government could not function according to the Constitution, leading to the imposition of President’s Rule.

The BJP had held several meetings in Manipur to find a new Chief Minister. However, since no agreement was reached, there were reports that the Centre might impose President’s Rule. Some MLAs had also suggested that President’s Rule would help in taking strong action against armed groups in both the hills and the valley.

Meanwhile, the Manipur Congress strongly opposed this move. Congress President K. Meghachandra Singh said that the BJP government had completely failed, and the state had suffered massive destruction in the last 20 months. He accused the government of not respecting the Constitution or the people’s mandate.