Opposition leaders question Biren Singh's moral right to continue as Manipur CM

Opposition leaders attacked Manipur chief minister N. Biren Singh on Friday, 30 August, over the situation in the northeastern state and said he has failed to safeguard lives and livelihood of people and should, therefore, resign.

Reacting to remarks made by Singh in an interview with PTI, where he ruled out stepping down, saying he has neither committed a crime nor spawned a scandal, Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Annie Raja said the chief minister has no moral right to continue at the top post.

"A chief minister's responsibility is to safeguard the lives and livelihood of the people of the state and he has miserably failed (in it). That is why he should be removed from the post. Even if he is not resigning, he has no moral right (to continue as the chief minister) because he has utterly failed in safeguarding the people of Manipur," Raja told PTI.

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Manoj Jha said everyone has seen the visuals from ethnic strife-torn Manipur and Singh should check his "morality quotient".

"Everyone saw those visuals.... An audio clip was released recently, in which there were revelations about his conversation with the home minister...," he said.

"When the president said she is scared and that it is enough, Manipur is also included in that. When he (Singh) says there is no moral responsibility on him, he should check his morality quotient," Jha told PTI.

The RJD leader was referring to an exclusive signed article written by President Droupadi Murmu for PTI, in which she said the recent spate of crimes against women should force honest self-introspection to uncover the roots of the malaise and mentioned a gruesome incident of rape and killing of a doctor in Kolkata.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Sagarika Ghose slammed Singh over his comments on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's handling of the protests against the rape and killing of the doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

Ghose said Singh has no "moral authority" to comment on West Bengal in view of the situation in his own state.

In his interview with PTI, the Manipur chief minister took a dig at his West Bengal counterpart over her handling of the situation after the doctor's rape and killing and the subsequent protests.

Referring to the situation in Manipur, Ghose said thousands in the northeastern state continue to suffer in relief camps.

"Unlike the Manipur chief minister, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has consistently put justice for the rape-and-murder victim above all else," she told PTI.

"The Kolkata Police cracked the case in 24 hours. Contrast this with Manipur where even after 18 months, thousands of people are suffering in relief camps, more than 220 people have died in ethnic violence and police never filed FIRs for months," Ghose said.

"The Manipur chief minister has no moral right, no moral authority to speak on West Bengal when he has completely failed over the last 18 months to provide hope and relief to his people. We are committed to women's safety. But the BJP only wants to play violent politics with rape," she alleged.

In the interview, Singh said, "The attitude that she (Banerjee) showed as a chief minister ... initially in the case, did not impress everyone. What happened to a doctor inside a hospital.... It is a heinous crime."

He said instead of taking action and arresting those responsible for the incident, Banerjee was "attending rallies".  

Singh also promised to fully restore peace in Manipur in six months with the Centre's help and also ruled out stepping down, saying he has neither committed a crime nor spawned a scandal. He also ruled out the creation of a separate administration for Kukis.

Ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on 3 May 2023 after a tribal solidarity march was taken out in the hill districts of the state to protest against the majority Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

Since then, more than 220 people, including both Meiteis and Kukis and security personnel, have been killed in the violence.