Why N Biren Singh Resigned As Manipur Chief Minister, Details Inside

Imphal: N Biren Singh resigned as Manipur Chief Minister on Sunday following his meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president J P Nadda today in Delhi. 

In his resignation letter to the Manipur Governor Ajay Bhalla, N Biren Singh listed five reasons for quitting the post.

Biren Singh stated, “to maintain the territorial integrity of Manipur, to crack down on border infiltration, to continue the fight against drugs and narco-terrorism, to continue the stringent and fool-proof revised mechanism of Free Movement Regime and time-bound and faster border”. 

Biren Singh Lists Out Reasons For Quitting CM Post

“To maintain the territorial integrity of Manipur, which has a rich and diverse civilizational history over thousands of years. To crack down on border infiltration and to formulate policy for the deportation of illegal immigrants. To continue the fight against drugs and narco-terrorism. To continue the stringent and fool-proof revised mechanism of FMR with the biometric being stringently applied. Time-bound and faster border, which is underway,” the letter mentioned. 

Manipur Congress Had Announced To Move No-Confidence

Singh’s resignation comes following the announcement made by Manipur Congress President Keisham Meghachandra that his party will move a no-confidence motion against the state government in the upcoming Assembly session. As per several reports, nine MLAs had skipped a meeting that was called by Biren Singh at Imphal on Saturday. 

"Brahmastra Missile will surely hit one of the Double Engine! Congress party set to move No Confidence Motion anytime soon," Meghachandra posted on X. 

Singh's resignation came a day before the scheduled commencement of the Assembly session.

Following his resignation, the Manipur governor called off the Assembly session and announced that the previous order issued on January 24, which had scheduled the Assembly session to commence on February 10, had been deemed "null and void".

“In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (1) of Article 174 of the Constitution of India, I, Ajay Kumar Bhalla, Governor of Manipur, hereby order that the previous directive to summon the 7th session of the 12th Manipur Legislative Assembly, which has yet to commence, is hereby declared null and void with immediate effect,” read the notice issued by Assembly secretary K. Meghajit Singh.

According to an official statement issued by Raj Bhawan, the resignation of Biren Singh has been accepted, and he has been asked to continue in office till alternative arrangements are made.

In the 2022 elections, BJP registered victory on 32 seats in the 60-seat Assembly, securing a majority on its own. 

Biren Singh ‘Almost’ Resigned in 2023 

In 2023, N Biren Singh clarified the speculation surrounding his resignation following ethnic clashes in the state. Singh mentioned he decided against giving his resignation at the very last moment after being persuaded by his supporters to not take this step. 

(Supporters gathered near Manipur CM residence to torn up Biren Singh's resignation letter/ ANI)

On June 30, 2023, thousands of supporters gathered outside the Chief Minister's residence in Imphal to prevent Biren Singh from meeting the governor and taking this eventual step, as claimed by many of his supporters. 

A letter of his resignation was also read out by one of his cabinet colleagues, L. Susindro Meitei, following which a woman among the gathering tore up that document. Biren Singh at that time said, “I doubted the government lost the trust of people”.