President's rule in Manipur imposed due to 'incompetency' of BJP govt: Congress

The Congress on Friday criticised the imposition of the President's rule in Manipur, alleging that the move was taken primarily due to the "incompetency of the BJP government" in the state. 

Manipur Congress vice president Hareshwar Goshwami told reporters that the President's rule has been imposed in the state even though the BJP has an absolute majority in the assembly.

"This is very unfortunate and unprecedented as the BJP is in power at the Centre and the state government was run by the party. This is mainly because of the incompetency of the BJP government in the state," he alleged.

Another reason is the "disunity among BJP MLAs", he claimed. 

"Even if these BJP legislators are elected in the next elections, they won't be able to form a government. I demand the formation of a new government before the next Parliament session," he said. The question now is what will the President's rule bring, he asked. 

"There may be a hidden agenda with mass combing operations and there is a threat to the territorial integrity of the state," Goshwami alleged. 

The Centre had imposed the President's rule in Manipur on February 13, days after Chief Minister N Biren Singh resigned from his post, leading to political uncertainty in the northeastern state. 

The Manipur assembly, which has a tenure till 2027, has been put under suspended animation, according to a notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Goshwami, however, appreciated the surrender of arms and ammunition by the people of the state and called for proper norms and policies for handing over weapons. 

"A spokesperson needs to be appointed to understand how the surrendering of arms is proceeding in the hills and the valley areas," the Congress leader said. 

Also Read: Amit Shah to review security situation in Manipur tomorrow

Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla on Friday extended the deadline for the surrender of looted and illegal arms until 4 PM on March 6. following demands by the people from both hill and valley areas for additional time, an official statement said. 

"Upon the expiry of the seven-day deadline for the voluntary surrender of arms, there have been requests from both the valley and hill areas to extend the period. I have considered these requests and decided to extend the deadline until 4 PM on March 6," the statement read. It further assured that no punitive action would be taken against those who would surrender their weapons within this period. 

Bhalla had on February 20 urged warring groups to voluntarily surrender weapons robbed from security forces and other illegally held arms within seven days, the deadline of which ended on Thursday. 

During the seven-day period, more than 300 weapons were surrendered by the public, primarily in the valley districts. 

More than 250 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Meiteis and Kuki-Zo groups since May 2023.