The Lok Sabha passed a resolution for President’s Rule in Manipur following an intense 14-hour debate on the contentious Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which was passed late Wednesday. Home Minister Amit Shah moved the resolution for President’s Rule in Manipur at 2 am on April 3, but the discussion on Manipur lasted only 41 minutes, including a 9-minute response from Shah.
The resolution was taken up after Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju, who also introduced the Waqf legislation as Minority Affairs Minister, urged the Speaker to begin the discussion on the President’s Rule in Manipur.
Despite the Opposition’s attempt to defer it to the next day, Speaker Om Birla called on Congress MP Shashi Tharoor to begin after Shah moved the resolution.
Tharoor backed the 2 am resolution and saw it as an “opportunity for healing”.
Had the unusual experience last night of making a speech at 2 AM — and that too in Parliament! The Lok Sabha took up consideration of the Home Minister’s resolution approving the proclamation of President’s Rule in Manipur, and it did so after the prolonged discussion and voting…
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) April 3, 2025
“We’ve all witnessed the horrors of Manipur, a slow-burning horror once the unrest began in May 2023 and continued for 21 months before the President’s rule was actually declared. During this time, we have seen at least 250 people having died, perhaps over 300,” Tharoor said in his Lok Sabha speech. The President’s Rule was announced in Manipur on February 13, but it was pending approval from the Parliament.
He added that over 5,600 weapons and 6.5 lakh rounds of ammunition were looted from police armories, and 70,000 people were displaced, many forced into relief camps.
Tharoor accused the government of failing to restore law and order despite repeated calls from the Congress to invoke President’s Rule. “I’m very sorry to see that it was only when the Chief Minister resigned on February 9, the state assembly had to reconvene by the 12th, but even though Article 174(1) of the Indian Constitution requires it, it wasn’t possible to convene the state assembly,” he added.
He further argued, “The Congress party in Manipur had already prepared a no-confidence resolution. Even your ally, the NPP, withdrew support. But because the assembly couldn’t convene, since the government wouldn’t have survived a confidence vote, President’s Rule was imposed.”
The MP for Thiruvananthapuram called it a “painful development”, adding that it will remain a “blot on the conscience of the nation”. He also stressed that “Manipur has now seen President’s Rule imposed 11 times – the highest for any Indian state in 77 years”.
“Decision making power has been shifted from locally-elected representatives to the central government and the governor appointed by the Central government and that is a very onerous responsibility at a time when sadly our own Prime Minister has not gone to listen to the pain and trauma of the suffering people even Supreme Court has sent a delegation two weeks ago…,” he launched a sharp criticism.
He also highlighted the state’s underdevelopment, limited industrialisation, high unemployment rates, and inadequate infrastructure. He pointed to the growing issues of illegal immigration and drug trafficking.
“In 2023, a woman police officer resigned from her post, alleging the government and chief minister’s interference in drug investigations and sheltering drug lords,” Tharoor added, calling such instances “shameful” for India.
Despite his criticism, Tharoor expressed hope that President’s Rule would help “heal” restive Manipur.
In his reply, Amit Shah dismissed the portrayal of the Manipur crisis as either “a riot” or “terrorism”, calling it “a caste-based conflict between two communities over a High Court order”.
He also stressed that there has been no violence in the past four months – December, January, February, and March.
Shah rejected claims that the violence was solely a product of BJP rule, pointing to past conflicts in Manipur: “I don’t want to say in the House that ‘There was so much violence during your time, so much violence during our time, there has been less violence in our time’… There should not be any violence at all. But an attempt has been made to create a picture to show that communal violence has taken place only during the rule of the BJP… In Manipur, communal violence took place in 1993. The Naga-Kuki conflict lasted five years… 750 people died and sporadic incidents continued for a decade.”
He said that the central government had taken swift action by deploying forces and initiating discussions with both communities. He added, “We are also trying to find a way out of this, but the first concern is to establish peace. There has not been a single death in the last four months. Two have been injured, and the situation is under government control. I do not say that it is satisfactory. As long as the displaced people stay in camps, there is no question of being satisfied.”
“The Congress party does not have enough MLAs to bring a no-confidence motion. Our Chief Minister resigned. Then, the Governor discussed with 37 members of the BJP, six of the NPP, five of the NPF, one of the JD(U), and five of the Congress. When the majority members said that they were not in a position to form the government, the Cabinet recommended President’s Rule,” Shah said, refuting claims that the BJP government in Manipur had lost its majority.