Newsmaker | Manipur’s Biren Singh: The ‘Sportsman’ CM Who Remained Not Out Despite Months-Long Crisis

Manipur Chief Minister (CM) N Biren Singh has been criticised by the Opposition and, at times, by some from his own party too. Several times this year, various reports suggested that he could lose his Manipur CM status, but even as the months-long violence is now on the verge of settling down, the former Border Security Force (BSF) jawan, journalist and footballer is still holding on to his chair.

When News18 asked Singh whether he was the newsmaker, the CM said, “I don’t think I am a newsmaker. I was not doing anything for my family business…It was a matter of our country and state because drugs is a big problem in the country. Illegal immigrant issue was there. My thinking was from the core of my heart. That might be the reason I got the blessings of people and seniors in Delhi. Their guidance is the reason I remained the CM."

The trouble began in January, when Singh started taking action against illegal migration and a drive to end poppy cultivation. Sources close to Singh said that his actions to stop illegal immigrants upset the forces on the “other side", which then fueled the ethnic clashes.

THE ETHNIC CLASHES

The conflict between the Meitei community, which accounts for more than 50% of the population, but does not own much land, and the Kukis, who stay in the hills, don’t have a huge population, but own large tracts of land, began in January. The court ordered that the Meitei community could be given the Scheduled Tribe (ST) status and requested the state to take this case forward to the Centre. The ST status would mean that Meitis can buy land in the hills, which they could not do so far as they were in the Scheduled Caste (SC) category. The Kuki community protested against it and held a peace march in Churachandpur on May 3, where the violence began.

The situation escalated rapidly, forcing the entry of the Army, suspension of internet and imposition of curfew. Both the communities started to destroy each other’s houses.

The Centre eventually created a border buffer zone, allocating hills to the Kukis and Valley areas to the Meitis. Even now, the communities don’t enter each other’s zone.

THE VIDEOS & RESIGNATION DRAMA

Even though a CM, Singh, being a Meitei, was not allowed to enter Kuki areas. The pressure to resign kept mounting, even as Home Minister Amit Shah camped in the state for three days to take stock of the situation. Former DG CRPF Kuldip Singh was made the security advisor, and things started working under his unified command .

As the situation was slightly improving, in July, two videos of two Kuki women being paraded naked surfaced and went viral. The videos shook the nation, with Singh ordering a probe. Even Congress leader Rahul Gandhi visited the state in July, demanding Singh’s resignation.

Singh then wrote his resignation letter, but a huge number of supporters stopped him. As the drama peaked, the resignation letter was torn and Singh later tweeted that he would stay. The events faced flak from many, who called it “staged".

Singh told News 18 that his conscience has asked him to resign and he had sought time from the Governor, too, but people’s sentiment stopped him.

Also, there was no direction from the Centre for him to resign.

HOW BIREN SINGH SAVED HIS CHAIR

The buzz in political circles is that Singh played a tough match as a good sportsman. A source close to Singh told News18: “He got angry, took sides, but he responded well to the criticism. He took his seniors into confidence and continued to do his job."

Sources tell News18 that removing Singh would have put more pressure on the government from the Opposition. Secondly, his removal would have suggested that the government was at fault. He was guarded by neutral officers from outside the state, but Singh was not removed.

Thirdly, Singh successfully showed his loyalty, while projecting that his fight was ideological, which he even mentioned to News18 in an interview. He had also told News18 that there were forces against him, but he was confident of handling it.

Sources close to Singh know that he does not repent any of his actions and that he sticks to his stand.

His balance of good and bad has helped him retain the seat. His situation was rightly summed up by a senior BJP leader: “Manipur is okay, but the situation is still not normal. Biren Singh will continue to play and it’s not easy to take his wicket."