The state’s ruling party will host a meeting on Friday to review the issue amid signs of a developing divide inside the BJP’s Manipur unit, where three MLAs had resigned from administrative jobs within a week.
“The time for a meeting has been set for Friday at 11 a.m. Legislators and other top state BJP leaders are anticipated to attend the meeting,” a party source stated. In order to meet with the party’s top brass and air their complaints, four BJP MLAs from the north-eastern state are currently camped out in Delhi. Three of them have resigned from their positions in the administration.
BJP MLA Paonam Brojen became the third legislator to resign on Thursday. He gave up the chairmanship of the Manipur Development Society on “personal grounds.” The meeting’s announcement came soon after this resignation was made public. The fourth legislator has filed a complaint with the Manipur police against the BJP state Minority Morcha president for “threatening” him through a Facebook post. Their moves have caused speculation that dissension is brewing in the Biren Singh-led BJP government.
Earlier, party legislator Karam Shyam resigned on Monday from the chairmanship of Tourism Corporation Manipur Limited, complaining that he had “not been assigned any responsibility”. On 8 April, another MLA, Thokchom Radheshyaam, quit as the advisor to the chief minister, citing a similar grievance. The fourth MLA, Khwairakpam Raghumani, has lodged a complaint with the state police against the president of the BJP Minority Morcha Asker Ali for a Facebook post that the legislator interpreted as a “threat” to his life.
Ali allegedly commented on the four MLAs’ move to sound out the BJP’s top leadership, stating “Let this be the last trip to Delhi” in Manipuri. In his complaint, Raghumani claimed, “Ali has issued this statement while I am away in Delhi, and he seems to be threatening that this will be my last trip to Delhi or anywhere.”