Former Chief Minister N. Biren Singh has accused sections of the BJP’s Manipur leadership of conspiring with the Congress to remove him from office in February 2025, while questioning why violence continued even after his resignation.
In an exclusive interview with PTI, Biren challenged the argument that his removal was necessary to restore peace, pointing to the continued violence and its spread to other communities.
“Now Biren is out. So, what happened now?” he asked, questioning those who had accused his government of favouring the majority community. He also referred to violence involving Naga communities and Christians, asking what had become of the European Parliament’s concern over the Manipur crisis.
Biren alleged that sections of the BJP’s state leadership had worked against him since 2017, accusing some party leaders of treating the BJP as their personal property. He claimed that internal resentment over his rise to the chief ministerial post, after crossing over from the Congress, had fuelled the move to force his resignation.
While targeting the circumstances surrounding his exit, Biren also expressed concern over the present BJP government’s failure, as he sees it, to effectively communicate its work and rebuild public confidence ahead of the Assembly elections scheduled for early next year.
He urged Chief Minister Y. Khemchand Singh’s government to continue the anti-drug campaign, action against poppy cultivation and biometric identification of suspected illegal immigrants. Claiming that public updates on such initiatives had diminished, he said people had heard little about the identification exercise for around one-and-a-half years.
Despite his criticism, Biren insisted that the BJP must return to power, saying it was the only way to secure Manipur’s future. Asked about his own possible return as Chief Minister, he cited what he described as strong public demand but said the decision would depend on the party winning a majority.
Biren resigned on February 9, 2025, amid mounting dissent within the BJP and the prospect of a Congress-backed no-confidence motion. His latest remarks expose continuing fault lines within the party and raise questions over accountability for the prolonged crisis.
