India imposes direct rule in Manipur after chief minister's resignation

NEW DELHI -- India's federal government imposed direct rule in the restive northeastern state of Manipur, four days after Manipur chief minister N. Biren Singh tendered his resignation, officials said Friday.

The decision was announced Thursday evening through a notification from the federal home ministry that the president's rule in the state has been imposed under Article 356 of the Indian Constitution.

With this announcement, the state will now be governed directly by the federal government through its appointed governor.

Insiders said Singh, a member of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), resigned from his post on Sunday to quell dissidence within the party and to avert the possibility of a no-confidence motion against him by the Congress-led opposition in the state assembly.

The legislative assembly session was scheduled to begin in Manipur on Monday.

On the last day of 2024, Singh apologized to the people of the state for the deadly ethnic violence that has been occurring since May 2023 and appealed to all sections to "forgive and forget" the past.

Manipur has been on edge since May 3, 2023, when large-scale violence broke out in the state during a tribal protest over the inclusion of the non-tribal Meitei community for a scheduled tribe status -- designated for disadvantaged socio-economic groups which gives them reservations in education and government jobs.

More than 5,000 weapons were also taken away from various police stations and other places in the state following violence.