Two Manipur deputy CMs, 2 ministers allotted portfolios

Imphal, Mar 4 (PTI) A month after their swearing-in ceremony, two Manipur deputy chief ministers and two ministers were allotted portfolios on Wednesday, a government notification said.

Chief Minister Y Khemchand Singh is yet to be allotted "any specific department" while Deputy CM Nemcha Kipgen, who belongs to the Kuki community, has been entrusted with the responsibility of rural and panchayati raj development, along with hill and tribal affairs, it said.

Another Deputy Chief Minister L Dikho, who is a leader of the Naga People's Front, has been assigned to the public health engineering and forest, environment and climate change departments, according to the government notification.

Minister Govindas Konthoujam will look after the home department, along with the youth affairs and sports.

National People's Party leader K Loken Singh has been allotted the art and culture department and the tourism portfolio, it said.

A state government official told PTI that "more ministerial expansion is likely after the budget session of the assembly in the second week of March." According to the rule, Manipur, with a 60-member assembly, cannot have more than 12 ministers, including the CM.

The new government led by Khemchand was formed on February 4 after the President’s rule in the state was revoked.

Restive Manipur had been under the President’s rule since February last year.

Manipur has been witnessing ethnic violence since May 3, 2023, after a tribal solidarity march was taken out in the hill districts, in protest against the majority Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

Since then, at least 260 people, including members of both the Kuki and Meitei communities as well as security personnel, have been killed in the violence, while thousands become homeless. PTI CORR BDC