Nov 19, 2024 12:13 PM IST
On Sunday, Meghalaya chief minister Conrad K Sangma’s National People’s Party (NPP) withdrew support to the BJP
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is maintaining a studied silence on the violence that erupted last week in Manipur, which has been on the boil since May 2023 and the demand for a change in the state’s leadership. Senior party leaders who spoke on condition of anonymity said the Union government and party leadership want to “focus” on building peace and a change in the state’s leadership is “unlikely”.
Pressure is building on the party to replace chief minister Biren Singh.
“The party faces a dilemma… the friction between the Kukis and the Meiteis has exacerbated to such an extent that a candidate from either ethnic group will be unacceptable to the other. Appointing a new CM who will not have pan state support has the potential to further deepen the differences and aggravate the ongoing crisis,” said a party leader.
Asked about the possibility of the state being put under President’s Rule, which means putting a person in charge who will be an outsider and acceptable to both sides, the leader said that decision “rests with the government”, considering the state’s security and conditions on the ground.
On Sunday, Meghalaya chief minister Conrad K Sangma’s National People’s Party (NPP) withdrew support to the BJP, pointing out that it does not have confidence in Singh’s leadership to bring the strife-torn state to normalcy.
“We have withdrawn our support to the Biren Singh-led government, so it is very specific to him, the individual. If we see that there is a change in leadership, a positive step forward and a plan to find a solution and we can constructively cooperate and contribute so that peace and normalcy return…” Sangma told media persons.
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In the BJP too, a section of party leaders has been in favour of replacing Singh, a Meitei with another leader from the same community.
“After violence erupted in the state, a section of leaders felt that a new person at the helm may assuage concerns of both the communities and address the trust deficit that the Kukis have… but the leadership in Delhi was assured that the CM is working to restore peace while preventing outside forces from stoking unrest between the Kukis and the Meiteis,” said a party functionary.
The BJP’s ideological fount, Rashtriya Swayamsevask Sangh (RSS) too has flagged the need for more people-to-people contact and trust building exercises.
According to a Sangh functionary, the organisation has been working silently on the ground to help rebuild ties and want individuals with heft and organisations with a presence on the ground to be the face of peace-building measures.
“Given the fact that a section of people in the state oppose the CM, peace building measures by the government are not working. In such a scenario, we need civil society and non government players to step up and work on dousing the fire and restoring peace,” the functionary said.
The functionary declined to comment on whether the Sangh has also sought the replacement of Singh, but attributed “outside forces” for stoking the sentiment against the CM.
“There is a sinister nexus of infiltrators and drug cartels from outside that misled people… the CM’s stern steps against poppy cultivation and drug use was one of the reasons for inciting violence,” the functionary said.
Party leaders in Delhi said the NPP’s withdrawal of support does not impact the stability of the state government and denied that a bunch of BJP legislators have indicated that they will also resign.
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