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Imphal, November 7 (IANS) Former Chief Minister N. Biren Singh on Friday said all BJP MLAs in Manipur are united in efforts to form a popular government in the state.
Singh, who resigned as chief minister on February 9, four days before President’s rule was imposed in the state due to prolonged caste violence, said the process of government formation was already underway.
Speaking to the media on the occasion of 150 years of Vande Mataram, the former chief minister refused to comment on personal opinions expressed by the MLAs regarding the formation of the new government.
Expressing concern over the plight of violence-affected Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) living in relief camps, he stressed the urgent need to address their problems and improve their living conditions.
“The demand from the public and from our side also is that we want to resolve the issues of the displaced people and others. Their problems can be resolved only when a popular government is formed,” he said.
Singh said that it is necessary to restore a stable and representative government to deal with the ongoing humanitarian challenges in the state.
“Once a popularly elected government is established, the problems of displaced families and other issues of the state will be the top priority of the government,” he said.
Referring to his and 25 other BJP MLAs’ recent visit to New Delhi, Singh said, “We met BJP’s Northeast coordinator Sambit Patra and discussed the situation in Manipur with him. He (Patra) personally came to Manipur Bhawan in Delhi. We told him that it is a public demand that a popular government be installed. We also apprised him of the issues related to IDPs. He said the matter would be taken up with higher authorities as the situation in the state is quite serious.” There has been improvement.”
Singh said he and five other MLAs also met BJP national general secretary (organisation) BL Santosh in Delhi.
The former chief minister said, “We requested him (Santosh) that it is the demand of both the public and us that a popular ministry be established as soon as possible. Santosh said the demand is being considered and he will visit Imphal soon.”
He said that Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla is a qualified and experienced person who is working hard to improve the lives of IDPs.
“However, IDPs have told me that bureaucrats are often not reaching out to them and they are facing a lot of difficulties. We MLAs will also do whatever we can to help them,” Singh said.
Meanwhile, a large number of IDPs living in relief camps on Wednesday protested against the government’s decision to provide Rs 84 per person as daily allowance.
The IDPs marched from Shajiwa to Soombung Sub-Divisional Officer’s office in Imphal East. Similar protests were reported in several other relief camps, with IDPs saying, “It is not possible to survive with such a small amount of money.”
–IANS
SC/And