Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Friday cleared the air that he will not step down from his position, drawing to a close a day of high drama amid buzz that he was going to step down. In a tweet put out a short while ago, Biren Singh clarified that he is not stepping down from his post.

“At this crucial juncture, I wish to clarify that I will not be resigning from the post of Chief Minister,” Singh said on Twitter.

High drama ensued after an English daily in Manipur, reported citing sources that the Chief Minister was expected to submit his resignation to Governor Anusuiya Uikey during a meeting scheduled today afternoon. The report came amid indications that the Centre was unhappy with his handling of the violence and the law and order situation in the state since early May.

Singh’s supporters gathered in huge numbers outside his residence to urge him not to take the drastic step. They also blocked roads outside Singh’s residence and urged him to reconsider his decision. An image of his resignation letter addressed to the Governor ripped into pieces also emerged on social media.

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Manipur-based English daily Sangai Express, which first reported the CM’s intent, claimed that the Assembly may be placed in animated suspension following Singh’s resignation. The report, however, said there was no official confirmation of the CM’s resignation.

The developments come barely two days after Governor Uikey’s visit to New Delhi where she also met President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, besides others and apprised them about the situation in Manipur.

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Singh has lately come under intense criticism primarily for his alleged failure to stop the violence in the state. Around 120 people are believed to have died and thousands injured and displaced in the ethnic clashes that have rocked the state since early May.

On Thursday, two persons belonging to the Metei community were killed in a gunfight with armed forces in Manipur’s Kangkopi, bringing to an end an uneasy calm for two weeks.

Opposition parties have repeatedly demanded that Singh step down as the chief minister and that Prewsident’s rule be imposed in the state. Home minister Amit Shah had also expressed concern over the state of affairs in the state during his meeting with Singh in New Delhi on June 25.

Biren Singh, who switched over to the BJP from Congress in 2016, was appointed the CM after the Assembly elections in the state in 2017. Singh is serving his second term in office following his appointment after the 2022 elections.

Violent clashes broke out in Manipur on May 3 following a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

The Centre has set up a Commission of Inquiry, headed by former Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court Ajai Lamba, to probe the recent violence in Manipur. The MHA said the commission, set up on June 3, will probe the causes and spread of the violence and riots targeting members of different communities.

On June 10, the Centre constituted a peace committee in Manipur headed by the Governor to facilitate a peacemaking process among various ethnic groups and initiate a dialogue. However, office bearers of several civil society groups refused to be part of the peace committee for different reasons.