Manipur CM Serves Notices To 11 MLAs Over Absence In Crucial Meeting

IMPHAL: The Chief Minister’s Secretariat of Manipur has issued notices to 11 Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs), including the ministers, for skipping a crucial meeting convened by Manipur CM N. Biren Singh on Monday. The meeting was called to discuss the ongoing situation in the violence-hit state.

The notices were served to Kshetrigao MLA Sheikh Noorul Hassan of the National People's Party (NPP), whose party had withdrawn support from the BJP-led government just a day earlier. Along with Hassan, the NPP also issued show cause notices to three of its seven MLAs—Mayanglambam Rameshwar Singh (Kakching), Thongam Shanti Singh (Moirang), and Irengbam Nalini Devi (Oinam)—for attending the meeting despite the party having officially withdrawn its support on Sunday. The NPP’s Tamenglong MLA, Janghemlung Panmei, did not attend the meeting, but there were claims that his signature was forged to falsely show his presence. 

In response to the defiance, an NPP leader stated that the party’s State Committee had written to its national president, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma, who served show cause notices to the three MLAs for their conduct.

Of the 11 legislators who received notices from the CM’s Secretariat, the majority were from the BJP. The exceptions are Sheikh Noorul Hussain and independent MLA Sapam Nishikanta Singh from Keishamthong. Two BJP members, Khumukcham Joykisan (Thangmeiband) and Md. Achab Uddin (Jiribam), had previously switched allegiances from the Janata Dal (United). Interestingly, unlike Mr. Hassan, two NPP MLAs, N. Kayisii (Tadubi) and Khuraijam Loken Singh (Wangoi), did not receive notices.

The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Manipur now has 46 MLAs following the NPP’s withdrawal. However, eight MLAs, including seven from the BJP, have been absent from the Imphal Valley since ethnic clashes broke out on May 3, 2023. Many of these MLAs are from the Kuki-Zo community, which fled the violence in the region.

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