E-Paper
Manipur: MDA rules out Prez Rule extension, expects new govt by early August
The MDA claimed that the state is on track to restore an elected government before the end of the upcoming Budget Session of Parliament, which runs from July 21 to August 21
Prefer HTon Google
IMPHAL: The Manipur Democratic Alliance (MDA), a coalition of 10 political parties aligned with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the Centre, has expressed confidence that a new “popular government” will be formed in Manipur by the first week of August, dismissing speculation about an extension of President’s Rule in the strife-torn state as “bogus.”
Speaking to the media at the MDA office in Imphal on Saturday, MDA convenor M. Tombi said, “There is no question of extending President’s Rule or dissolving the existing government. Most central leaders, including those from the NDA, Shiv Sena, and a Union minister, have assured me that a popular government is expected to take shape in early August.”
The MDA claimed that the state is on track to restore an elected government before the end of the upcoming Budget Session of Parliament, which runs from July 21 to August 21.
President’s Rule was imposed in Manipur on February 13, 2024, after chief minister N. Biren Singh stepped down, following months of ethnic violence and political instability that began on May 3, 2023. The state has since remained under suspended animation.
Tombi blamed the delay in government formation on a section of MLAs, who he alleged were “selfish and power-hungry.” He urged all political parties to cooperate in restoring democratic governance instead of stoking a leadership crisis.
In a related development, Shiv Sena, an alliance partner of the MDA and the NDA, issued a four-point demand, calling for the immediate formation of a popular government, rehabilitation of internally displaced persons in their original locations, free movement on national highways in accordance with Union home minister Amit Shah’s March 8 directive, and a halt to the delimitation process based on the “bogus” 2011 census.
The party further said that the issue of illegal immigrants must be resolved before the national delimitation process scheduled for 2026. It warned that no delimitation exercise should proceed in Manipur until this issue is fully addressed.
