Manipur CM quits after months of ethnic strife

The chief minister of BJP-ruled northeastern Indian state of Manipur N Biren Singh yesterday resigned after months of ethnic strife that left more than 250 people dead.

“It has been an honour to serve the people of Manipur so far,” Singh said in his resignation letter which he handed over to Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla at the Raj Bhavan in Imphal.

Singh’s resignation came after a two-hour-long meeting with Indian Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP President JP Nadda in New Delhi yesterday.

On Saturday, Singh had convened a meeting with BJP-led ruling alliance legislators in Imphal in the wake of the opposition Congress seeking to move a no-confidence motion against the government led by Singh during the budget session of the state legislature.

The strife between Manipur’s majority Meitei and minority tribal Kuki communities in the state of 3.2 million people broke out in May 2023 and has rendered 60,000 people homeless.

The ethnic violence involving Manipur’s two largest ethnic groups erupted after a court had ordered the Manipur government to consider extending the special economic benefits and quotas in government jobs and education enjoyed by Kuki people to Meiteis as well.

Although major clashes have stopped, sporadic violence between the two ethnic groups have continued.

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