Manipur Violence: Several Organisations Seek President's Rule Citing Biases In Administration

On Saturday, K Vanlalvena - the lone Minister from Mizoram in the Rajya Sabha - demanded the imposition of President's Rule in the violence-hit state of Manipur. He also criticised the Central government for not taking a proactive decision to put an end to violence in the State.

Manipuris protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on 19 June 2023/ ANI

The Kuki leadership in the state has also been demanding President's rule.

No end in sight to violence

There seems to be no end to the violence that hit Manipur after an ethnic clash on May 3, 2023.

The violence began in the first week of May after a rally by the indigenous communities (including the Kuki community) against moves to grant tribal status to the main ethnic group (Meiti) in the State. It soon spiralled into a serious ethnic clash.

Houses have been ransacked and vandalised, vehicles set on fire, thousands displaced, and many killed in cold blood.

Violence continues to spiral in Manipur/ PTI

Even as 50 days have passed since violence first broke out, the ethnic communities in Manipur still can't see eye to eye.

What is President's Rule?

Simply put, President's Rule is when the state government is suspended, and the central government directly administers the state through the office of presiding Governor.

Although the term denotes rule by the President herself, in actual effect, it is the Governor who 'rules' on the direction of the Central government.

Also called State Emergency or Constitutional Emergency, this is provided under Article 356 of the Constitution of India, which states that if a state government is unable to function according to Constitutional provisions, the Union government can take direct control of the state machinery.

Parliament approval is necessary to impose the President's Rule on any state, as the proclamation of President's Rule should be approved by a simple majority in both Houses of Parliament within two months of its issue.

The Constitution provides for President's rule to be imposed for a period of six months initially. Later, it can be extended for three years with parliamentary approval every six months.

What would President's rule in Manipur mean

The state of Manipur is no stranger to President's rule.

Reuters

Manipur has had at least ten instances of President's Rule in the past, the longest being about two and a half years from 1969 to 1972, leading to statehood.

Two days earlier, various party MLAs of the BJP had submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi stating that there has been a complete breakdown of law and order in the State and that people have lost all faith in the State government.

Citing biases in the State administration and security forces (who belong to the various communities of Manipur), several organisations have also demanded the imposition of President¡¯s Rule in the State.

The Hindu quoted a senior source in the BJP as saying, "Biren Singh¡¯s (Manipur CM) removal will lead to alienation among the Meitei community, but President¡¯s Rule will also mean take over by Central forces, and a return of instruments like the Armed Forces Special Powers Act [AFSPA] that the Central government had worked so hard to withdraw from various districts of Northeastern States, including Manipur."

However, as of now, multiple people in the government and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said that President¡¯s Rule was only a ¡°last option¡± as the idea was to exhaust other available measures first.

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