Manipur Congress president resigns; 8 party MLAs set to join BJP today as infighting rages

After Rajasthan, Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Telangana, the internal turmoil within the Congress party continues unabated as the crisis has spilled over to Manipur. This comes as Manipur Congress president Govindas Konthoujam has stepped down from his post. A former Minister, he is a 6-time MLA from the Bishnupur constituency and the Chief Whip of Congress in the state Assembly. Moreover, sources revealed that 8 Congress legislators are likely to switch allegiance to BJP on Tuesday. At present, Congress has 17 members in the Manipur Assembly as against that of BJP which is the single-largest party with 24 MLAs. 

N Biren Singh government proves majority

The N Biren Singh-led government's victory on the floor of the Assembly on August 10, 2020, brought to an end the political uncertainty prevailing in the state since June 17 when 9 MLAs including the Deputy CM withdrew support to the BJP government. 8 Congress MLAs stayed away from the Assembly proceedings despite the party issuing a whip to vote against the trust motion moved by the Chief Minister. The government was supported by 28 members including the 4 NPP MLAs on the floor of the Assembly. 

Meanwhile, two Congress legislators Th Lokeshwar and Mirabai Devi reportedly threw chairs and benches in the Assembly alleging that the confidence motion was not conducted properly. In a major jolt for Congress, 6 out of the 8 abstaining Congress MLAs submitted their resignations to the Speaker on the same day. Currently, the state government has the support of 36 MLAs including 4 MLAs from NPP and NPF respectively, the lone LJP MLA and three Independents. 

Congress seeks disqualification of 12 BJP MLAs

The prospect of further defections in Congress comes amid the party's demand for the disqualification of BJP legislators in the 2018 'office of profit' case. From 2017 onwards, 12 BJP MLAs were appointed as Parliamentary Secretaries. The controversy arose when the Manipur Parliamentary Secretary (Appointment, Salary and Allowances and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2012, and the Manipur Parliamentary (Appointment, Salary and Allowances and Miscellaneous Provisions) Repealing Act, 2018 were declared unconstitutional by the Manipur High Court in September 2020.

This matter went to the Supreme Court which has fixed July 26 for disposing of Congress' disqualification case against these MLAs. Notably, the Election Commission of India has opined in favour of these legislators. This is because the aforesaid laws were in existence when they held the office of Parliamentary Secretary.