Manipur Congress President resigns, 8 MLAs may join BJP

Ground Report | New Delhi: Manipur Congress President resigns; There is political turmoil in Manipur Congress. Party President Govindas Konthoujam has resigned There is political turmoil in Manipur Congress. Party President Govindas Konthoujam has resigned. According to media reports, 8 Congress MLAs may join the Bharatiya Janata Party in Manipur today.

Manipur Congress President resigns

Govinddas Konthoujam has been an MLA from the Bishnupar assembly constituency for six consecutive terms and was also the Leader of the Opposition in the assembly. In December last year, he was made the president of the Manipur Congress. His resignation from the party in this way is a big setback for Congress because there is an assembly election in Manipur next year.

The victory of the N Biren Singh-led government on the floor of the assembly on August 10, 2020, ended the political uncertainty prevailing in the state since June 17, when 9 MLAs, including the Deputy CM, withdrew support to the BJP government. Eight Congress MLAs stayed away from the proceedings of the Assembly despite the party issuing a whip against the confidence motion moved by the Chief Minister. The government had the support of 28 members, including 4 NPP MLAs, on the floor of the assembly.

Meanwhile, two Congress MLAs Th Lokeshwar and Mirabai Devi allegedly threw chairs and benches in the assembly, alleging that the confidence motion was not handled properly. In a major setback for Congress, 6 out of 8 MLAs who stayed away from Congress submitted their resignations to the Speaker on the same day. Presently, the state government has the support of 36 MLAs including 4 MLAs from NPP and NPF, a lone MLA from LJP, and three Independents.

The possibility of further defections in Congress comes amid the party's demand for disqualification of BJP MLAs in the 2018 'office of profit' case. Since 2017, 12 BJP MLAs were appointed as Parliamentary Secretaries. The controversy arose when the Manipur Parliamentary Secretaries (Appointment, Salary, and Allowances and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2012, and the Manipur Parliamentary (Appointment, Salaries and Allowances and Miscellaneous Provisions) Repeal Act, 2018 were declared unconstitutional by the Manipur High Court in September was. 2020.

You can connect with Ground Report on Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp, and mail us at [email protected] to send us your suggestions and writeups.