Manipur’s former Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Monday accused National People’s Party chief Conrad Sangma, his former ally, of interfering in the state’s internal affairs.

Sangma, the chief minister of Meghalaya, said in response that at this time, everyone’s efforts should be towards restoring peace in Manipur and “political posturing” should be avoided.

In a post on X, Singh uploaded a video clip of Sangma’s late father, Meghalaya’s former Chief Minister and parliamentarian PA Sangma, supporting smaller states while speaking in the Lok Sabha in 2014. In the clip, PA Sangma had referred to demands for a separate state in the North East and said: “Gorkhaland, Kamatapur, Bodoland, Karbi Anglong, Garoland, my own tribe, Dimasa, Kukiland, so many demands are there…”

Referring to this statement, Singh remarked that Sangma’s proposal was “a dangerous idea that threatened the unity of our nation”. He added: “Today, we are seeing similar attempts to interfere in Manipur’s internal affairs to destabilise the state.”

Manipur has been mired in ethnic conflict between the Meitei and the Kuki-Zomi communities that broke out in May 2023 and has since left at least 260 dead and displaced more than 59,000. Since the conflict broke out, Kuki-Zomi groups based in the state’s hill areas have been demanding a separate administrative structure from the Meitei-dominated valley regions.

The former chief minister of Manipur said on Monday that the state has a “unique” situation in terms of its demographic challenges. “This state is home to several small, vulnerable indigenous communities, whose protection necessitated the implementation of the Inner Line Permit [ILP],” he said.

The Inner Line Permit is a document that Indian citizens from other states require to enter certain regions in the North East. The document is meant to be a protective regime to keep small local populations shielded from large-scale migration.

The Bharatiya Janata Party leader said that the current crisis is not political at its core, but stems from “the drug menace, illegal immigration, destruction of forests, and the systematic pursuit of power” by some groups.

“After years of effort to safeguard our indigenous populations, we have begun to make real progress such as the implementation of ILP, a hard-won achievement,” Singh said. “Shri [Conrad Sangma] should know that the violence was not spontaneous; it was instigated by those who feel threatened and insecure by this kind of progress.”

He also urged Sangma not to encourage illegal immigration or interfere in “matters that threaten this delicate balance”.

To this, Conrad Sangma said that his father “always fought for the people of the North East, was a strong advocate for different issues and rights of the people of the North East”. The National People’s Party chief said there is a need to work together to ensure peace in Manipur.

“I once again appeal to everyone to work for the betterment of the people of Manipur,” he said. “This is what (L) PA Sangma ji would have wanted.”

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In November, the National People’s Party withdrew support to the Manipur government, then headed by Singh, accusing it of failing to restore normalcy in the state.

Singh resigned as the Manipur chief minister on February 9, about 21 months after the violence began in the state. Since then, Manipur has been under President’s Rule.

Also read: Why ‘strong-arm’ tactics have not improved Manipur’s chances of peace after a month of central rule

Commenting on the BJP leader’s statement about PA Sangma, National People’s Party vice-president and former Manipur Deputy Chief Minister Yumnam Joykumar Singh said that the remarks appeared to have stemmed from frustration, The Indian Express reported.

“I don’t think that anything happened recently that should provoke him to make any statement,” he said.

The former deputy chief minister said his party withdrew support to the Manipur government because Biren Singh did not take responsibility for the violence, instead claiming that the situation was normal.

“Our move may have made the BJP MLAs, who did not see eye-to-eye with him, finally bold enough to push for his removal, so maybe he is resentful about that,” the National People’s Party leader was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.