New Delhi/Imphal, February 23 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh assured Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh of all assistance from his ministry in every endeavor of the state government.
The Manipur Chief Minister, who has been in New Delhi since Saturday, also separately met BJP National President Nitin Nabin and the party’s National General Secretary (Organisation) B L Santhosh on Monday.
An official of the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) in Imphal said that Rajnath Singh assured all assistance from the Defence Ministry in any initiative undertaken by the Manipur government.
During the meeting, the Chief Minister urged the Defence Minister to extend help in raising one Territorial Army (TA) battalion for Manipur.
The Chief Minister, accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Losii Dikho, met the Defence Minister. Dikho belongs to the Naga People’s Front (NPF).
Chief Minister Singh met BJP National President Nitin Nabin at the BJP’s national headquarters in New Delhi on Monday afternoon.
During the meeting, Nitin Nabin discussed with Khemchand Singh matters relating to strengthening the party’s state unit. Nabin also asked the Chief Minister to expedite the state government’s efforts for the resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) affected by ethnic violence.
The BJP National President assured all possible support from the party in this effort. Khemchand Singh was elected as the new leader of Manipur’s BJP Legislature Party at the BJP’s national headquarters in New Delhi on February 3.
He was the first BJP Chief Minister to be elected after Nabin took charge as the party’s national president. The Chief Minister was accompanied by two Deputy Chief Ministers, Losii Dikho and Nemcha Kipgen, both from the BJP.
A member of the Kuki community, Kipgen hails from the tribal-inhabited Kangpokpi district and is the first woman Deputy Chief Minister of Manipur. This is the first visit of Khemchand Singh to the national capital after taking oath as the state’s new BJP Chief Minister on February 4.
On Sunday, the Manipur Chief Minister, accompanied by his two Deputy Chief Ministers, met with Union Home Minister Amit Shah to discuss various issues, including the rehabilitation of IDPs, officials said in Imphal.
According to the CMO official, the Home Minister discussed with the three Manipur leaders the steps taken by the new state government to remove barriers between different communities and to restore peace and harmony in the state.
