Amit Shah Proposes Resolution on President’s Rule in Manipur at 2 AM
- MGMMTeam
- Apr 3
- 4 min read
Union Home Minister Amit Shah introduced a statutory resolution in the Lok Sabha regarding the imposition of President’s Rule in Manipur. This came after an extensive discussion on The Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2025, which lasted over 12 hours during the day. Shah presented the resolution around 2 AM on Thursday, followed by a debate. After a 40-minute discussion, during which eight opposition members voiced their views and Shah provided his response, the resolution was passed through a voice vote.
Kicking off the discussion, Congress lawmaker Shashi Tharoor stated that his party backed the President’s Rule in the conflict-ridden northeastern state but emphasized that it should be implemented to “restore peace and stability” in the region. “Those responsible for maintaining law and order have not done their duty. No decisive action was taken for almost two years. It was imposed only when the CM (chief minister) resigned before the state assembly was set to reconvene. The Congress party had already prepared a no-confidence motion. They could not survive and so the President’s Rule was imposed,” Tharoor stated that although Supreme Court judges have visited Manipur, the Prime Minister should also make a visit.
Tharoor stated that approximately 60,000 weapons and more than 600,000 rounds of ammunition were stolen from state armories. “Economic growth has suffered. Armed groups are running amok. There is no rule of law. We would like to see the President’s Rule as an opportunity to heal the state. The President’s Rule is necessary but not sufficient. No one should experience what people in Manipur have gone through,” he added.
Shah responded that there has been no significant incident of violence in the past four months. “We have brought this proclamation within two months of the President’s Rule being imposed in the state. Please come together, support this and restore peace in Manipur. The government is working to restore peace and heal the wounds.”
Shah refuted claims that the government had mismanaged the ethnic clashes and stated, “We acted promptly. The government airlifted security forces on the day the HC (high court) passed the order. The violence started in the aftermath of the HC order, which was interpreted differently by both groups. There was no delay.”
He also discussed the past ethnic conflicts that have occurred between various communities in Manipur. “I don’t want to compare the violence in your tenure or ours. In my view, there should not be a single incident. The narrative that the Centre failed in controlling the violence is wrong. There were clashes before too. It dragged on for 5-10 years. I only urge the opposition not to politicise the clashes. These are not terrorism or rioting, but ethnic clashes. When those clashes happened, the then home ministers did not go to the state,” he mentioned that of the 260 deaths in the state, at least 80% occurred within the first month.
Listing the measures implemented by the Centre under the President’s Rule, Shah stated that representatives from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) have been holding separate discussions with both groups, along with ongoing meetings with civil society. “Very soon, there will be a joint meeting. We are working to have such a joint meeting. The first step is to restore peace. By and large the situation is under control. In the last four months, two people were injured and there has been no violence. I won’t say it is satisfactory but it is under control. Until the day, the internally displaced people are in camps, there is no reason to be satisfied,” he added.
Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, a lawmaker from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), raised an objection to holding the discussion at 2 am. “The opposition has been raising the demand to have a discussion on Manipur but today is the day you have chosen after 2 o’clock in the middle of the night. How much regard do you have for the people suffering there?,” she said.
She addressed crimes against women in Manipur and the recent violence that erupted during the Centre’s initial attempt to reinstate interstate movement between the valley and hill districts.
“How did arms go to the hands of terrorists and protesters? There was blood shed even after the home minister promised free movement. 16 are critically injured, 103 are injured. If this is the state, what has President’s Rule done?” Kazhagam said.
Supriya Sule of the Nationalist Congress Party – Sharadchandra Pawar [NCP(SP)] praised Shah as a "decisive minister" who has "achieved remarkable results" in Kashmir. “But we are not very satisfied with what happened in Manipur. But I hope you do a strong intervention, bring in peace and have a fair election there,” Sule said.
The Central government imposed President’s Rule in Manipur on February 13 under Article 356 of the Constitution, just four days after Chief Minister Biren Singh resigned. However, the state assembly has not been dissolved and remains in suspended animation, meaning the legislators retain their positions as MLAs. This status allows the party with a majority to attempt forming a government within the existing assembly at a later stage.
As per Article 356, the proclamation of President’s Rule must receive approval from both houses of Parliament within two months.
Biren Singh stepped down on February 9 amid growing internal discord and the looming threat of a no-confidence motion. Reports indicated that 10 to 12 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators were prepared to switch sides ahead of the scheduled assembly session on February 10. Additionally, 10 Kuki-Zo MLAs from Singh’s own party had already distanced themselves from him following ethnic clashes and had called for his resignation. After stepping down, Singh remained in a caretaker role for four days while BJP leaders, including the party’s northeast coordinator, Sambit Patra, held meetings with dissenting MLAs in an unsuccessful attempt to gather the necessary support to form a government without him as chief minister.
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