Ex-Manipur CM Biren Singh blames BJP leaders for ouster, questions continued violence

Singh also challenged the argument that his removal would help restore peace in the state

NEW DELHI: Former Manipur chief ministerN Biren Singh has accused sections of the state BJP leadership of conspiring with the Congress to remove him from office. Singh also questioned the continued violence in the state since his resignation in February 2025.In an exclusive interview with PTI, Singh said the BJP government must urgently work to “regain the lost confidence and trust of the people” ahead of assembly elections due early next year. He also claimed there was strong public demand for his return as chief minister.“I had not been treated well since 2017. I am not accusing the Delhi leadership but sections of the state leaders who conspired against me with the Congress,” Singh told PTI. He alleged that some party colleagues resented his elevation despite having switched from the Congress to the BJP.“There are MLAs who could never accept how I became CM twice after having crossed over from the Congress. They consider BJP as their property. So they plotted, planned and made me resign,” he added.Singh also challenged the argument that his removal would help restore peace in the state, pointing to continuing clashes involving Meitei, Kuki and Naga communities. The present government, led by Y Khemchand Singh, took office in February this year.“Now Biren is out. So, what happened now? How many Naga brothers have died? They were blaming me. They were saying I favour the majority. Now it is Christians versus Christians. Where has the European Union gone?” he asked.His remarks come amid renewed violence in the state. Three Meitei villagers were shot dead and three others injured in an ambush by suspected militants inside a forest along the Imphal East-Kangpokpi border on Monday. The victims were part of a group collecting firewood near Nongshum and Khongbal Tangkhul villages when the attack took place.The killings triggered protests in Imphal, with demonstrators carrying the bodies of two victims to a sit-in outside the chief minister’s official residence. Security personnel later used tear gas to disperse the crowd. The latest killings come amid escalating clashes between Kuki-Zo and Naga groups in the hill districts, with more than 50 people reportedly killed on either side over the past eight months.

Expressing concern over the BJP’s declining public confidence, Singh also questioned the government’s commitment to issues that had featured prominently during his tenure, including the anti-drug campaign and action against illegal immigration.“That is my main worry,” he told PTI when asked whether public anxiety could hurt the BJP in the elections.“Anti-drug campaign, anti-poppy plantation, that campaign we are not seeing. The government should also continue biometric identification of suspected illegal immigrants. At least identify them. And even if you can’t deport the illegal immigrants at least you can keep them in camps. What we have started, continue it. And save the future. We have to save the future,” he said.