New Delhi, Jul 25: The President's Rule in Manipur has been extended for another six months, starting from August 13, 2025 as joint security forces step up operations against insurgent groups across the state.

The decision came after Union Home Minister Amit Shah moved a resolution in the Lok Sabha seeking approval for the extension.

The House admitted the notice and passed the resolution, which said: "That this House approves the continuance in force of the Proclamation dated February 13, 2025, in respect of Manipur, issued under Article 356 of the Constitution by the President, for a further period of six months with effect from August 13, 2025."

The President's Rule was initially imposed in Manipur on February 13, 2025, following prolonged ethnic violence and a breakdown of administrative machinery in the state.

The violence started in the state in 2023 after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised against the high court order. There have been many efforts by the Central government to bring the warring communities to the negotiating table.

The extension comes even as security remains tense in several parts of Manipur, with efforts at reconciliation and peacebuilding still underway.

The Central government is expected to use this period to stabilise the law-and-order situation and assess the feasibility of holding Assembly elections at a later date.

Manipur was placed under President's Rule after the Bharatiya Janata Party failed to reach a consensus on a successor to N. Biren Singh, who had resigned as Chief Minister on February 9.

He stepped down just a day before his government was due to face a no-confidence motion and a critical floor test.

The resignation followed nearly two years of ethnic violence in the state, beginning in May 2023, and came amid increasing pressure from the opposition, which had been demanding Singh's removal.

In April, 21 ruling NDA MLAs from the state wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Shah, demanding the immediate installation of a "popular government".

In their letters, they said the people of Manipur had welcomed President's Rule with high expectations, but there had been no visible actions to restore peace and normalcy.

"There is a strong apprehension among the common people that the violence may reoccur. Many civil society organisations have come out openly against the imposition of President's Rule. They have been demanding the installation of a popular government in the state," the MLAs wrote jointly.

The ethnic violence between the Kuki-Zo and Meitei people that erupted in the state on May 3, 2023, has claimed the lives of 250 people and displaced more than 60,000 people from their homes.

National Highways 2 and 37, which are key to connect the land-locked Imphal valley to Nagaland and Assam respectively and critical for supply of essentials and other commodities, pass through Kuki-Zo inhabited areas.

Meitei people who live in the valley have not been able to access the highways since the violence began in May 2023. More than 6,000 police weapons were also looted in the state.

Over the past 24 hours, 10 militants linked to banned outfits have been apprehended, officials confirmed on Thursday.

According to news agency IANS, a senior police official said that the arrests took place across Imphal West, Imphal East, Bishnupur, Kakching, Tengnoupal, and Tamenglong districts.

Those detained are reportedly members of the Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP), People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK), and People's Liberation Army (PLA).

(IANS)

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