Imphal: Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh found himself in the middle of another controversy on Saturday after a series of tweets from his official Twitter handle hit out at social media users demanding his resignation. The tweets, which were later deleted, incensed the Opposition and tribal groups as they accused the chief minister of invoking the already inflamed ethnic fault lines in the violence-hit state.
The controversial tweets, put out early on Saturday, came a day after Singh seemed to begin the process of resigning as the chief minister of Manipur, a state roiled by ethnic clashes for close to two months now. However, protesters that collected outside the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader’s Imphal home prevented him from proceeding to the governor’s residence 200 metres away, following which he “clarified” he would not demit office.
“At this crucial juncture, I wish to clarify that I will not be resigning from the post of Chief Minister,” he tweeted on Friday after thousands of Meitei women gathered outside his home and tore a sheet of paper that contained his resignation.
A Twitter profile with the name “Thang Kuki” said the CM should have resigned a long time ago. In a reply to the tweet, Singh’s official account posted: “Are you from India or Myanmar?” with a laughing emoji, insinuating close ties between Kukis from Manipur and the members of the ethnic group residing across the international border.
