Corruption, drugs & insurgency: CM N Biren Singh’s 3-point priority plan for Manipur

After a comfortable win in the Assembly Election 2022, BJP leader N Biren Singh took oath as the Chief Minister of Manipur for the second consecutive term on Monday and laid out a clear governance plan for his new term.

Biren Singh shared his government's three-point priority agenda for Manipur, which includes eradicating corruption, ending the drug menace, and aggressively addressing the issue of insurgency.

To make Manipur Corruption-Free

“My administration's first priority will be to make Manipur a corruption-free state. I would work day and night to rid the state of corruption”, N Biren Singh told ANI immediately after taking the oath of office.

Put an end to the drug problem

“My government's next step will be to clean up any drug-related debris in the state, as it disproportionately affects the youth”, Singh added.

Defeat the insurgency

Third, I will work to ensure that all insurgents operating in the state are brought to the negotiating table and that dialogues take place. These three will be my primary responsibilities.

As a border state, Manipur's youth are susceptible to insurgency operations and become involved in such activities. The Manipur Insurgency is an ongoing armed conflict between India and a number of separatist rebel groups in the state.

Singh was unanimously elected as the leader of the BJP's legislature party at a meeting on Sunday attended by the party's central observers, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and Union Law and Justice Minister Kiren Rijiju.

Singh had visited Delhi ahead of the BJP's state legislature party meeting, where he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

In the recently concluded Assembly elections, the BJP retained power in the state by winning an absolute majority of 32 seats in the 60-member House.