President's rule imposed in Manipur, Congress slams Centre

The invoking of Article 356 came after President Droupadi Murmu received a report from Manipur Governor about the failure of parties in forming a new government.

New Delhi: President’s Rule was imposed in ethnic violence-hit Manipur on Thursday, as the ruling BJP failed to arrive at a consensus on the successor of N Biren Singh who quit as Chief Minister four days ago.

Congress on Thursday said the declaration of President’s Rule in the state is a “belated admission” by the ruling BJP of its  “complete inability” to govern the ethnic strife-torn state and it comes after the fabric of its society was allowed to be “severely damaged”.

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying he can “no longer deny” his direct responsibility on Manipur and one would want to know whether he has finally made up his mind to visit the state and explain his plan to restore peace and normalcy.

“The imposition of President’s Rule in Manipur is a belated admission by the BJP of their complete inability to govern in Manipur,” Rahul posted on ‘X’, hours after the notification about invoking Article 356 of the Constitution was issued. This was after President Droupadi Murmu received a report from Manipur Governor Ajay Bhalla on the political situation in the north-east and the failure of parties in forming a new government.

The President was “satisfied that a situation has arisen” in which the state government “cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution”, the notification, which also came hours after the first leg of Parliament’s Budget Session was adjourned till March 10, said.

Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh said the government action has come after what the Supreme Court called “the absolute breakdown of constitutional machinery in the state”, which saw the killing of over 300 people and displacement of over 60,000 men, women, and children since 3 May, 2023.

“This has come after the fabric of Manipur's society has been allowed to be severely damaged, if not totally destroyed” and after the BJP and its allies got a “huge majority in Feb 2022, but whose politics led to the colossal tragedy” just fifteen months later, he said.

“This has come after the Union Home Minister has clearly failed to manage Manipur, which had been entrusted to him by the Prime Minister. This has come even as the globe-trotting PM steadfastly refuses to visit Manipur and begin the process of reconciliation,” Ramesh added.

Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal expressed hope that a process of reconciliation between all communities would begin and the Centre conducts a genuine peace-building initiative to bring Manipur out of the crisis it faces today. 

The state has been in turmoil following conflict between Meiteis and Kukis that started with a Manipur High Court order asking the state government to consider including Meiteis in the state’s Scheduled Tribes list in March 2023. In February 2024, this order was modified to exclude Meiteis.