Manipur political crisis: 4 NPP MLAs leave Imphal in chartered flight

Our Correspondent
Imphal, June 23 (EMN): In the midst of the ongoing political crisis in Manipur, with talks still inconclusive, the four legislators of National People's Party (NPP) who had withdrawn their support to the coalition government led by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), left Imphal in a chartered flight on Tuesday.

The MLAs were accompanied by Assam's Health minister Hemanta Biswa Sarma and NPP chief Conrad Sangma as they left for the national capital to meet central leaders.

However, till the filing of this report, it could not be confirmed whether they had reached Delhi or were staying back in Guwahati.

Prior to their departure at Bir Tikendrajit International Airport near Imphal this afternoon (June 23), Sarma who is the convener of the North-East Democratic Alliance (Neda), said that that they want to address all the issues raised by the rebel MLAs so that they can ‘concentrate on development and elections’.

Informing that the engagement will be productive and constructive, the Neda convenor said they would try to resolve the issue in the spirit of friendship and solidarity.

Earlier in the day, Sarma along with Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma flew to Imphal in a chartered flight to meet and try to resolve the ongoing political crisis in the state.

All four NPP MLAs, including former Deputy Chief Minister Y Joykumar Singh along with the lone Trinamool Congress legislator and an Independent MLA had withdrawn support to the BJP-led coalition just two days ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls on June 17. Three sitting BJP MLAs also resigned both from the party and membership of Manipur Legislative Assembly on the same day, threatening to pull down the three-year-old N Biren Singh government in Manipur.

The NPP -- a key member of the Neda, a non-Congress political platform floated by the BJP after winning the Assam elections in 2016 -- has been an important BJP ally in Manipur.

The two leaders -- Sarma and Sangma -- had already visited the state on June 21 in their attempt to resolve the political crisis but they rushed back as the talks remained inclusive.