Congress exodus in Manipur continues; 5 ex-MLAs who recently quit the party join BJP

In a big boost for the Manipur government on Wednesday, 5 ex-MLAs who recently resigned from Congress and the Assembly joined BJP in the presence of CM N Biren Singh. They included former CM Okram Ibobi Singh’s nephew Okram Henry Singh, Panonam Broken, Oinam Lukhoi Singh, Ngamthang Haokip, and Ginsuanhau Zou. Maintaining that there is no threat to the state government, BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav predicted that BJP will be re-elected to power in the next Assembly polls.  

He alleged that Congress had tried to destabilize the Manipur government by unfair means. According to Madhav, many Congress MLAs supported the BJP government during the recent confidence motion. After the resignation of 6 Congress MLAs, the strength of the Manipur Assembly has been reduced to 47.  

Read: From Ban On Live Streaming To Voting Procedure:Congress Cries Foul Over Manipur Trust Vote

BJP wins trust vote

The N Biren Singh-led government's victory on the floor of the Assembly on August 10 brought to an end the political uncertainty prevailing in the state since June 17, when 9 MLAs including the Deputy CM withdrew support to the BJP government. 8 out of 24 Congress MLAs stayed away from the Assembly proceedings despite the party issuing a whip to vote against the trust motion moved by the Chief Minister. The government was supported by 28 members including the 4 NPP MLAs on the floor of the Assembly. 

Two Congress legislators Th Lokeshwar and Mirabai Devi reportedly threw chairs and benches in the Assembly alleging that the confidence motion was not conducted properly. Expressing his joy, Manipur CM's advisor Rajat Sethi observed that the Congress party's "devious plan" to destabilize the government had failed. In a major jolt, 6 out of the 8 abstaining Congress MLAs submitted their resignations to the Speaker on the same day.

Read: Manipur Speaker Allows Motion Of Confidence For CM Biren Singh, Dismisses Congress' Plea

Congress protests against trust vote proceedings

The Congress party termed the trust vote proceedings as a "murder of democracy". First, it slammed the Assembly Speaker's decision to reject the opposition MLAs' demand for conducting the trust vote by the division of votes. The party also questioned the ban on live streaming of the trust vote proceedings. 

Furthermore, Congress lamented that the Manipur government had not designated an entire day for a discussion on the COVID-19 crisis. The party accused BJP of destroying democracy inside the "temple of democracy".  It affirmed that the people would not forgive BJP for allegedly trampling upon established democratic conventions.

Read: Manipur Health Minister Gives Medical Kits To Truck Drivers