NPF leaders to meet on Saturday to review ties with BJP in Manipur

Contending that the BJP does not pay heed to its ideas and suggestions, the NPF, a partner in the saffron party-led alliance in the state, has convened a meeting of its leaders on Saturday to decide if it would continue to stay in the coalition or withdraw support. Denying the allegation, the BJP said it has extended all possible facilities to its partners to ensure smooth functioning of the government.

Talking to PTI, Awangbou Newmai, the state unit chief of the Naga People's Front (NPF), claimed that the BJP "looks down" on its alliance partners. "The BJP has never respected the spirit of the alliance since the formation of government in 2016. There have been instances when their leaders have refused to consider our members as alliance partners," he said, without elaborating. The NPF has four MLAs in the 60-member Assembly. Of the four MLAs, Loshii Dikho, who won from Mao Assembly constituency, is a cabinet minister.

Newmai also said that the saffron party did not live up to the promises it made to its coalition partners. "The NPF has always considered the BJP as its big brother, but that did not stop the saffron party from bluffing to us. We haven't got our due respect," he claimed.

Rebutting Newmai's claims, Ch Bijoy, the spokesperson of the BJP, said the NPF had maintained that it did not want any ministerial berth while joining the alliance, but now it seems the party has several demands. "The allegations made by the NPF are totally baseless and unfounded. All possible facilities have been provided to our coalition partners for the smooth functioning of the government," he added.

(With inputs from agencies.)