44 MLAs ready to from popular govt: Manipur Speaker

Shortly after a group of NDA legislators called on the Governor at Imphal Raj Bhavan and conveyed their desire to form a popular government, Speaker Thokchom Satyabrata of Manipur Legislative Assembly left Imphal for New Delhi.
The political development came amid the unrest triggered by the recent act of restriction to the use of the state’s name by the Central security forces.
Sources said that the Speaker dashed to the national capital after he was asked to do so by the BJP Central leaders. He left by a commercial flight at around 1 pm today, sources disclosed.
No further detail regarding his visit to the national capital could be culled out from the source.
However, he has been frequently visiting the national capital after the President’s Rule was imposed in the state after keeping the state legislative Assembly under animated suspension.
His last visit was on April 22 and according to sources, during the visit, the Speaker had held close-door meetings with BJP Central leaders.
Earlier this month, he had expressed his strong confidence of the Centre reviewing the state’s situation while hoping for the reinstatement of a popular government in the state at the earliest.
The Speaker’s dashing off to New Delhi was shortly after a group of 10 MLAs from the BJP and its partners in the state called on the Governor and allegedly conveyed that 44 MLAs have the desire to form a popular government.
The 10 MLAs were Thockchom Radheshyam Singh, Lourembam Rameshwar Meitei, Thangjam Arunkumar, Kh Raghumani Singh, Kongkham Robindro Singh, Yumnam Radheshyam Singh and Paonam Brojen Singh from the BJP, Sheikh Noorul Hassan and Janghemliung from the NPP; and Independent Sapam Nishikanta.
The MLAs entered the Raj Bhavan around 11 am and came out at 11.45 minutes. After meeting the Governor, BJP MLA Th Radheshyam told the reporters that the MLAs conveyed to the Governor that 44 MLAs of the BJP and its partners agreed to the formation of a new government.
“We have conveyed to the Governor that we, 44 MLAs, agree and are ready to form a new government which is also a strong desire of the people,” he said.
The Governor noted it down and assured to take up what can be done in the interest of the people and Manipur, he claimed.
He said that “We are ready to form the government, is some kind of staking claim.”
He added all the MLAs except those 10 belonging to Kuki community have the desire to reinstate the popular government. Even the five Congress MLAs would have the desire.
The Manipur Legislative Assembly has 60 seats, of which one is vacant owing to the death of an NPP MLA.
The group of MLAs also submitted a formal letter of support of the MLAs to the formation of the government, he said.
Radheshyam further said that the decision to reinstate the popular government in the state was to be taken by the Central leader as the BJP is a national party.
It may be noted that on April 29 last, a group of 21 MLAs from the BJP and its partners in the NDA had submitted letters to both the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister seeking the reinstallation of a popular government in the state. Former CM N Biren Singh or the MLAs close to him were not among the 21 MLAs. This time too, the 10 MLAs who called on the Governor today were among the 21 MLAs.
In the meantime, Raj Bhavan, in a press release, stated that 10 MLAs called Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla and discussed law and order situation in the state and political situation in the state. “The issues they discussed included, among others, initiating a peace process based on mutual understanding and strengthening of security arrangements,” it read.
Further, they urged the Governor to expedite the formation of a popular government in the state. They also submitted a memorandum to the Governor on these issues, it added.