Biren Questions Manipur Killings, Alleges Internal Plot Behind His Ouster

Imphal: The BJP government in Manipur must urgently work to "regain the lost confidence and trust of the people" ahead of assembly elections due early next year, says former chief minister and party man N Biren Singh, while accusing some of his colleagues of plotting his ouster.

Challenging the argument that he was responsible for polarising the state, Singh asks why violence continued and spread to other communities despite his removal as chief minister in February 2025. He also says there is strong public demand for his return to the chief minister's chair.

"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 in an exclusive interview.

"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.

The present BJP government is headed by Y Khemchand Singh, among the senior party leaders who had pressed for his removal as chief minister in 2025.

Singh also questioned the argument that his removal would help restore peace in Manipur, pointing to the continuing violence involving Naga and Kuki communities.

"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, referring to the fresh wave of violence since the formation of the Khemchand government in February this year.

In July 2023, the European Parliament adopted a resolution expressing concern over the ethnic violence in Manipur and urging authorities in India to protect religious minorities, end the violence and facilitate independent investigations.

Clearly unhappy with the functioning of the present government, Singh, 65, said he was concerned the BJP was losing public confidence because of the lack of visible action on issues central to its political agenda.

Asked whether growing public anxiety could hurt the BJP in the assembly elections, he replied, "That is my main worry."

"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.

The former chief minister -- who began his innings in politics with the Democratic Revolutionary Peoples Party in 2002, moved to the Congress the following year and joined the BJP in 2016 - claimed new arrivals were settling among established residents.

"Even if they (the present government) are doing anything, as of now, there is no information in the public domain. By communicating to the public what we are doing, we can regain the lost confidence, trust of the people," Singh added.

Recalling his government's approach to suspected illegal immigration, Singh said, "In my time, we used to tell people in the press that we have identified these many. But for one-and-a-half years, no one has heard about it."

Despite his criticism of the present government's functioning and his account of the circumstances surrounding his removal, Singh strongly backed the BJP's return to power.

"If you want to save Manipur, if you want to brighten the future of Manipur, the only way is to bring BJP back," he said.

Asked whether the BJP had enough time to regain lost public confidence ahead of the assembly elections, Singh expressed hope that the BJP's central leadership would intervene to address the situation.

He stressed that the party needed to reach out to voters and highlight its initiatives, including border fencing and biometric identification of suspected illegal immigrants, to convince people that it had a plan for Manipur's future.

Asked whether he saw himself returning to the chief minister's chair if the BJP retained power, Singh said, "How can I say that? I can only say that there is intense public demand. People want me back as CM. But such decisions depend on us getting majority."

His regret that he could nor complete the work he had undertaken is palpable.

"You need a cancer expert to treat cancer, not ortho. I feel bad that I could not complete what I had set out to do due to disunity and infighting," he said.

Singh claimed the situation had been moving towards normalcy towards the end of his tenure. "But politicians played politics. And they succumbed," he said.

His resignation on February 9, 2025, came amid mounting dissent within the ruling party and the threat of a no-confidence motion by the Congress. Khemchand, then a minister in his cabinet, was among the senior BJP leaders who had reportedly warned the central leadership that the government could collapse unless Singh was replaced.

Though Singh had earlier suggested that the BJP central leadership might have removed him to restore peace in Manipur, this is the first time he has spoken about the dissidents and internal manoeuvring that preceded his resignation.

A former footballer and journalist, Singh became Manipur's chief minister on March 15, 2017, heading the state's first BJP-led government despite the party winning just 21 seats in the 60-member Assembly, against the Congress' 28. The BJP cobbled together a majority with the support of regional parties and other legislators.

He returned for a second term in March 2022 after the BJP secured a majority on its own.