After CM, five MLAs rush to Delhi on chartered flight
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, February 05 2025: After summoning Manipur Legislative Assembly speaker Th Satyabrata and RD&PR minister Yumnam Khemchand to Delhi, the central leaders on Wednesday reportedly asked chief minister N Biren Singh to reach the national capital which the latter complied with by taking a Delhi-bound flight from Imphal Airport around 2 pm.

Later, five more BJP MLAs chartered a flight to Delhi around 8.05 pm.

While there is no confirmed reports on who CM Biren met in Delhi, sources conveyed that the CM talked to BJP national spokesperson MP Sambit Patra.

However, the matters discussed are not known.

Meanwhile, Khemchand, who is in Delhi since February 3 and had met Sambit Patra, again held talks with Patra around 7pm Wednesday.

However, he did not meet with union home minister Amit Shah after the meeting with Sambit Patra as was initially planned.

On the other hand, around 8.05pm Wednesday, Power minister and Thongju MLA Thongam Biswajit, Langthabal MLA Karam Shyam, Lamlai MLA Kh Ibomcha, Patsoi MLA Sapam Kunjakeswor (Keba) and Kumbi MLA Sanasam Premchandra left for Delhi on a chartered flight.

According to another source, both the CM and the five MLAs would be attending the Mahakumbh Mela currently being held at Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh.

Hours after Biren left for the national capital to meet central leaders, three senior state ministers and four BJP MLAs also rushed to Delhi on a chartered flight on Wednesday evening, news agency PTI quoted officials as saying.

The CM was likely to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah to discuss a wide range of issues, including the security situation in the state, they said.

According to officials, works minister Govindas Konthouam, and consumer affairs minister L Susindro Meitei were among the BJP legislators who took a chartered flight in the evening.

While Govindas said he was "going to Uttar Pradesh," Biswajit claimed that he was going to attend a function at the Kumbh Mela.

According to Hindustan Times, the national and Manipur capitals were abuzz with speculation after it emerged that Y Khemchand, a cabinet minister in the N Biren Singh government, met with several other ministers and legislators, and was summoned to New Delhi for a meeting with Union home minister Amit Shah.

Khemchand's meeting with the ministers and legislators, and his forthcoming meeting with Shah, come ahead of the seventh session of the Manipur legislative assembly scheduled for the second week of February.

It also comes amid growing legal troubles for the chief minister.

The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) to submit a report on the leaked audio tapes allegedly featuring chief minister N Biren, in which he is purportedly heard saying that the ethnic violence in the state was instigated at his insistence.

Khemchand left for Delhi on February 2 around 1 pm.

One of his aides, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that several MLAs are dissatisfied with the administration of the current government since the violence broke out in Manipur.

This person, who asked not to be named, added that Khemchand met some ministers at his residence last week.

"The primary agenda of the meeting with Shah is to address the grievances faced by MLAs since the violence erupted.

Additionally, Khemchand will strongly urge the central leaders to meet MLAs individually and hear their concerns," the person said.

The meeting at Khemchand's residence was also attended by members of other political parties and independent MLAs who are supporting the BJP government.

Following the recent withdrawal of support by some parties from the BJP-led government, the Naga People's Front (NPF) remains the only party still aligned with the BJP.

In Imphal, there is speculation that the National People's Party (NPP), which holds six seats (excluding the vacant Tadubi Assembly constituency seat of late MLA N Kayisii), may sit in the Opposition benches in the upcoming assembly session alongside five Congress MLAs and independent MLA Mohd Abdul Nasir from Lilong constituency.

Another person familiar with the developments in the state said that previously, independent MLA Sapam Nishikant and MLA Th Radheshyam were separately summoned to Delhi, where they met with Amit Shah and BJP Northeast coordinator and Manipur in-charge Sambit Patra.

Meanwhile, BJP's Manipur spokesperson Mayanglambam Suresh confirmed on Tuesday at the state party office that Article 355 is currently in effect in Manipur, which means the Centre is responsible for law and order.

Responding to media queries about when it was imposed, Suresh said, "The day the central government appointed Kuldiep Singh as the security advisor to Manipur government.

Since then, law and order have been under the command and control of the central government, while political administration remains under the BJP-led state government".

He added: "The order or notification regarding the imposition of Article 355 in Manipur is available on the Ministry of Home Affairs website".

The imposition of Article 355 has been a topic of debate in Manipur, with chief minister N Biren Singh avoiding direct confirmation of this on multiple occasions during media interactions.

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