New Delhi: The BJP-led government in Manipur is staring at a crisis with 17 of the 21 MLAs petitioning prime minister Narendra Modi and party national president Amit Shah to replace state chief minister N. Biren Singh.
Top sources in the state BJP told The Wire that the petitions were sent to Modi and Shah early this week and a set of rebel MLAs have since been camping in Delhi to meet the party’s central leaders. The party’s national leaders had also summoned the Speaker Y. Khemchand to Delhi on June 12 to understand the crisis. Local news reports said the chief minister too arrived in Delhi a day later.
Sources said the rebel group is being backed by Th. Biswajit, BJP MLA from Thongju and a minister in the Biren Singh government. Some rebel MLAs had also travelled to Guwahati recently to meet Himanta Biswa Sarma, the convenor of North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) of the BJP, seeking a leadership change in Manipur.
Also read: BJP, Its Allies Ahead in Majority of 25 Northeast Lok Sabha Seats
In the run-up to the assembly elections in 2017, BJP legislative party leader and the potential chief ministerial candidate, K. Joykishan, shifted alliance to the Congress, leading some to speculate about Biswajit as a choice if the party managed to pull off a win.
During the campaign for the 2017 polls, Biswajit, upon being asked about his prospects for the top post, didn’t rule himself out, stating to this correspondent that Modi was being seen to prefer young chief ministers in the Northeast. However, Biren Singh, who had moved to the BJP from Congress, became the dark horse. Biswajit was made the works and power minister.
A day before leaving for Delhi, on June 12, Biren held a cabinet meeting at his official bungalow and stripped Biswajit of his portfolios. He also took away the finance portfolio of the deputy chief minister and alliance partner National People’s Party (NPP) leader Joykumar. Claiming he had the approval of the cabinet ministers, he took the action citing the financial mess the state has found itself in due to a massive overdraft from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Early this week, the RBI stopped honouring all bills and cheques of the Manipur government for taking on a overdraft of Rs 247.48 crore. The state government has since instituted a probe into the matter. According to a press statement issued by the state chief secretary, the chief minister, for the time being, has kept both the portfolios with him.
Party sources also say that taking away the finance portfolio from the NPP leader “is a first step towards dropping him from the post of deputy chief minister and handing it over to a BJP minister”.
Speaking to local reporters in Imphal after his sacking, Joykumar accused the chief minister of being a part of the financial mismanagement. He said on January 8, 2018, on the chief minister’s insistence, that a system had been put in place wherein any encashment permission or withdrawal of funds through cheques beyond Rs 2 crore had to be authorised by him.
Watch | Sadak Se Sansad: In Manipur, What Do the People Really Want?
“He (Joykumar) said that the CM remained a de facto finance minister since then. The total overdraft amount is Rs 274.48 crore, which cannot be incurred through transactions of amount lesser than Rs 2 crore, which indicated that the CM was aware of the incurred amount,” the Imphal Free Press reported on June 14.
Talking to reporters on June 13 evening, Biswajit said he welcomed the probe “with wide arms” and “truth will prevail”. He reportedly said that out of the total budget allocation of Rs. 106,853.06 lakhs in the works department for the fiscal year 2019-20, “only 65,644.48 lakhs was spent, leaving behind a balance of 10,026.03 lakhs. In addition, of the Rs. 47,858.46 lakh of the notional provision (inclusive of central funds) only 16,675.91 lakh was spent.”
Among other things, the RBI’s action is feared to have had an adverse effect on the disbursement of salaries to state government employees.
Meanwhile, in a bid to sort out the power struggle brewing in the state for some time now, BJP national general secretary in charge of the Northeast, Ram Madhav, arrived in Imphal on June 8. Biswajit was seen on the same platform with him and Biren Singh at a programme held to felicitate R.K. Ranjan Singh, the first BJP Lok Sabha MP to be elected from Manipur.
Th. Biswajit felicitating newly-elected BJP MP R.K. Ranjan Singh in Imphal as BJP national leaders look on. Photo: Twitter
However, on June 12, though Biren Singh was to take part in the BJP’s national office bearers meeting in Delhi, he cancelled it to hold the cabinet meeting where he took action against Biswajit and Joykumar.
Prior to it, in what seemed like an attempt by Biren to sideline the rebel group, he announced a reshuffle of his ministry within June itself. This past June 5, speaking to reporters in Ukhul, where he held a cabinet meeting for the first time, he said the reshuffle would be based on parameters like the minister’s performance, discipline, loyalty to party and the leadership. While Joykumar skipped the cabinet meeting, so did some other BJP ministers including Nemcha Kipgen, the only woman in Biren ministry.
The petition to Modi and Shah by the rebels early this week looks like a reaction to this possible step of Biren.
Some party insiders said that Biren’s leadership was also being questioned because even though he was in charge of the Manipur Outer constituency in the recent Lok Sabha elections, the BJP candidate lost to the Naga People’s Front (NPF) – an alliance partner with which the relationship has gone sour lately.
BJP won from the Inner Manipur constituency, which was put under Biswajit. The sources said the win had given Biswajit a handle to assert himself in the state party, but the RBI overdraft issue seemed to be working in Biren’s favour to convince the national leadership to sideline the rebels.
The Wire contacted Biswajit multiple times but hasn’t got a response from him yet.
