Manipur CM Biren Singh resigns ahead of no-confidence motion; Congress slams as 'belated resignation'

Hours after meeting with the BJP leaders including Union Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi, the Chief Minister of Manipur N. Biren Singh has tendered his resignation to the Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla on Sunday evening (February 9, 2025).

Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, along with his Council of Ministers was set to face a no-confidence motion in the Manipur Assembly scheduled to begin tommorow.

Soon after returning to Imphal, Mr. Singh submitted his resignation letter to the Governor. He was accompanied by Bharatiya Janata Party in charge for Manipur Sambit Patra and BJP State President A Sharda Devi and his Council of Ministers.

A press statement issued by the Governor's Secretariat stated that the Chief Minister of Manipur, N. Biren Singh today submitted his resignation to Governor of Manipur, Ajay Kumar Bhalla at Raj Bhavan, Imphal.

"Governor accepted the resignation of the Chief Minister along with Council of Ministers and asked him to continue in office till alternative arrangements are made," said the statement.

Biren Singh's resignation comes nearly two years after ethnic violence erupted in the state, and a few days after the Supreme Court had asked the Centre Government to submit forensic analysis of the audio tapes purported to implicate N. Biren Singh for his role in the State’s ethnic conflict by a government laboratory.

An analysis conducted by Truth Labs Forensic Services, a private non-profit, had said that comparisons with samples of Mr. Singh’s public speeches showed that there was a 93% probability that the voice in the leaked tapes was that of the Manipur Chief Minister.

Meanwhile, the Congress leaders have slammed the resignation of N. Biren Singh as 'belated'. "For nearly two years, BJP's CM Biren Singh instigated division in Manipur. PM Modi allowed him to continue despite the violence, loss of life, and the destruction of the idea of India in Manipur," said Rahul Gandhi.

"The resignation of CM Biren Singh showed that mounting public pressure, the SC investigation and the no-confidence motion by the Congress have forced a reckoning," he said, adding that the most urgent priority is to restore peace in the state, and work to heal the wounds of the people of Manipur.

The Congress leader also urged that PM Modi must visit Manipur at once, listen to the people and finally explain his plan to bring back normalcy.

In his social media handle, Congress Secretary Jairam Ramesh said the Congress was all set to move a no-confidence motion against the Chief Minister and his Council of Ministers in the Manipur Assembly tomorrow.

"Sensing the climate, the Manipur CM has just resigned. This was a demand that the Congress has been making since early May 2023, when Manipur erupted," he said.

"The CM's resignation was belated. The people of Manipur now await a visit by our Frequent Flier PM who is off to France and the USA now - and who has found neither the time nor the inclination to go to Manipur these past twenty months," Jairam Ramesh added.