Manipur Congress president resigns, 8 party MLAs likely to join BJP today
Govindas Konthoujam resigned as Manipur Congress president while eight other party MLAs are likely to join the BJP on Tuesday.
Govindas Konthoujam resigns as Manipur Congress president | Photo credit: Twitter@KonthoujamG
Key Highlights
- Konthoujam was a six-time consecutively elected Congress MLA from Bishnupur Assembly Constituency
- His resignation comes ahead of Manipur Assembly elections next year
- Congress in its 'Mission 2022' is aiming to bag not less than 45 of 60 seats, a leader had said
Imphal: Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president Govindas Konthoujam has resigned from his post on Tuesday. At least eight Congress MLAs will join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today, sources said. Manipur is scheduled to go for Assembly elections next year.
Konthoujam was a six-time consecutively elected Congress MLA from Bishnupur Assembly Constituency and the Chief Whip of the Congress Legislature Party of the MPCC. A former Cabinet minister in Manipur, he was appointed as the president of MPCC by Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi in December last year.
Last month, the BJP had also named Sharda Devi as president of its Manipur unit. She succeeded Saikhom Tikendra Singh, who succumbed to COVID-19 in May.
Konthoujam had in June attacked Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh for his “insensitivity and public mockery”.
“The Chief Minister was asking what the previous Congress governments had done for the state in 15 years. I want to ask him, wasn’t he a Cabinet minister in the Congress government led by Ibobi Singh?” Konthoujam had said, adding Biren had also served as the Congress government’s spokesperson.
He had also questioned how much money the state government had given back to the people during the Covid-19 pandemic. “Why did the CM take Rs 167 crore through petrol from the people’s pockets during the pandemic instead of giving an economic package to the poor?” he said.
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Meanwhile, the Congress in its 'Mission 2022' is aiming to bag not less than 45 of 60 seats. Congress leader Gaikhangam Gangmei had stated that defection of the MLAs do not undermine “the party in any way”. Those who chose to defect to the ruling BJP “lack political principles”, he had said.