N. Biren Singh: The Most Incompetent Chief Minister in the History of Manipur

The duplicity and crookedness of N. Biren Singh leadership has come to the fore whilst handling the surrendered militant outfit with the arrest of two cadres of the so called Chin Kuki Liberation Army, along with multiple weapons, ammunition, drugs and cash. Ironically, the said militant group belongs to one of the surrendered outfits to the Government of Manipur few months back.

Biren has shown his stupidity and absurdity to the world by alleging that the arrested cadres were involved in a transnational plot aimed at destabilising both Manipur and the Nation.

Fact of the matter is that the so called CKLA outfit was not known or little known to the majority of the Kuki-Zo populace until the incompetent Chief Minister, N. Biren Singh, staged a ‘Homecoming Ceremony’ for them on April 22, 2023, barely two weeks before the ethnic cleansing pogrom began on May 3, 2023. Altogether 37 cadres, including the leader of the Chin Kuki Liberation Army/Organization (CKLA), laid down their arms and ammunition in the homecoming ceremony held at the 1st Manipur Rifle Banquet Hall before Chief Minister N Biren Singh, in the presence of his Council of Ministers; DGP, Manipur Police and other high-rank officers.

However, rumour has it that this is the same group created by Manipur CM N Biren Singh for a stage-managed Surrender Ceremony a few months back.

A big question thus arises: How can the cadres belonging to this surrendered group (CKLA) be still involved in illicit drugs trade and arms smuggling through trans-national border? With this sort of duplicity running rampant, it is increasingly becoming clear that N. Biren Singh government is solely responsible for all the mess in the State, be it the present mayhem, arms smuggling or drugs syndicate, etc. across international boundaries.

It is an open secret that a lesser-known group of militants, who are not under the purview of Suspension of Operation with the Governments, are often utilised by the politicians in the highest hierarchy or MLAs closely linked to the top leadership for gaining political mileage or side income out of illegal arms or drug trade. Such intra-linkage between armed miscreants and politicians gives rise to prospering illicit drugs syndicate to a whopping amount of INR 70,000 crores in Manipur, more than double the State’s annual budgetary allocation.

Mention may be made that other than the insurgent groups from KNO-UPF, who are under SoO, the Kuki-Zo people do not give any space to any other armed militant groups who could hinder political, social and economic progression.

Under the Revised Scheme for Surrender-cum- Rehabilitation of Militants in the North East States, 2018 of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, rehabilitation benefits of financial grant, monthly stipends and incentives for surrendered weapons are given to surrenderees. They will stay in a rehabilitation camp for three years. Astonishingly, cadres belonging to a surrendered group could still be arrested for indulging in anti-social activities.

Continuing his demonising, false and subversive narratives against the Kuki-Zo community for the last few years, the prejudicial chief minister is still indulging in displaying his communal mindset in public sphere. Anything that comes against a particular community finds worth mentioning on his social media post. However, he remains deliberately silent on the Meiteis’ anti-social or anti-national elements.

Since the ethnic cleansing pogrom began in the State, several arrests have been made of Meitei terrorists who were indulging in anti-national activities. However, none of the arrests has been found on his social media post. But, when it comes to the arrest of CKLA cadres, it was as worth as gold for his social media accounts. For this particular news update on his Facebook page, he even restored the disabled comment section, obviously giving space for Meitei netizens to write negative comments against the Kuki-Zo and words of praise for him. Otherwise, his facebook page was strictly monitored, even to the extent of turning off the comment section since his popularity declined among his own Meitei people.

It must be noted that the underlying reason for the present Manipur mayhem is the nexus between the State government, Meitei terrorist outfits based in Myanmar and the radical militia groups. The complicit alliance had been nurtured for a long time, particularly against the Kuki-Zo, and had been emboldened during the present regime under N Biren Singh leadership.

The constant accusation of Kuki-Zo tribals for the violence as ‘trans-national conspiracy’ is nothing but to build an escape route for his State-sponsored ethnic cleansing pogrom in a planned and organized manner. The accusations are also intended to conceal the role of the Meitei terrorist organisations, who are backed by Myanmar Junta and other foreign country’s hands, away from the limelight.

Having lost all his credibility, N. Biren Singh can now be safely tagged as the most incompetent chief minister in the history of Manipur. Most observers usually refrain from taking his statements seriously as any of his remarks in public platforms raise an important question that needs to be followed through to its logical end.