Manipur Public Works Department Minister Govindas Konthoujam clarified that Chief Minister N Biren Singh’s absence from the recent security review meeting in Delhi, chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, was due to the executive nature of the meeting rather than political reasons.
Addressing allegations from the Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC), Konthoujam asserted the meeting was focused on administrative and security issues, making it inappropriate for the CM to attend.
The MPCC had earlier claimed that excluding Singh from the meeting violated Schedule 7 of the Constitution, which details the division of powers between the Union and State governments. In response, Konthoujam dismissed these allegations, stating they were baseless and misleading.
“We need to understand that Manipur has a security advisor appointed by the Government of India to oversee the State’s law and order situation. The chairman of the Unified Command is also the security advisor, not Singh. The Delhi meeting was an executive meeting and not a political one, hence Singh was not included,” Konthoujam explained.
He further addressed allegations by All India Congress Committee (AICC) leader Pawan Khera, who suggested that Singh’s exclusion indicated a lack of confidence in the Chief Minister. Konthoujam refuted this, asserting, “There is no such thing as humiliating the people of the State by not inviting the CM to the security review meeting.”
