New Delhi: A delegation of senior officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Intelligence Bureau (IB) arrived in Imphal on Monday (January 22) to hold discussions aimed at restoring peace and normalcy in Manipur.According to the Economic Times, the officials will hold consultations with the state government, community leaders, and other stakeholders to compile a comprehensive list of demands that have been put forth by each side.A major point of contention is the hill tribe’s demand for the separation of administration from the valley and the removal of chief minister N. Biren Singh. However, the Union government has refused to entertain these demands.Last week, various organisations, including Meira Paibis (women vigilantes), organised massive protests demanding that the Union hand over the charge of Unified Command to the chief minister and remove security adviser and the command’s chairman Kuldiep Singh, the report said.However, the chief minister’s name was missing from the list of names who are part of the Unified Command which sparked rumours that Article 355 of the constitution was in effect in the state.Article 355 in ManipurOn Monday, chief minister Biren Singh laid rumours to rest and revealed, at an all-party meeting, that Article 355 has been in effect in the state since the clashes broke out in May.Leaders at the all-party meeting from the opposition criticised the Union and the state government for not revealing this to the public sooner.“It reflects the insincerity of both the Centre and the state government,” Manipur Congress chief Meghachandra Singh said. “The chief minister told us Article 355 has been enforced in Manipur. There was no clarity on this before. It is unfortunate that the chief minister took so long to tell us this. Both the Union and the state government are not sincere, we know now, it is confirmed,” he told reporters in Imphal.Article 355 mandates the Union government to safeguard states against external aggression and internal disturbance. This provision grants the Union the authority to assume control of a state’s law and order enforcement without dismissing the state government and is seen as a step below the President’s rule.The Kuki-Zo tribes have been demanding President’s rule in Manipur. They say that President’s rule will ensure neutrality of security forces and government policies. However, home minister Amit Shah told parliament last year the state government was cooperating and there was no need for President’s rule.Mystery over Article 355 since last yearIn May last year, two public officials from the state – an elected MLA and head of the state police – had indicated that Article 355 had been imposed in Manipur. However, no formal order had been issued by the Union government to impose or invoke the constitutional provision.Moreover, in August last year, the Union home ministry categorically stated that it had no information on any notification issued by the Union under Article 355 of the Constitution between January 2023 and June 13, 2023. The ministry was responding to a Right to Information (RTI) query filed by Karnataka high court advocate Ajay Kumar.The secrecy surrounding its imposition raises concerns because such a decision, made in the absence of a legal, published announcement, may be considered unlawful.Article 355 is found in part XVIII of the Indian constitution which contains emergency provisions that are meant to be used in extremely rare circumstances. This section of the constitution empowers the Union government to declare a state of emergency (through Article 352) or, in other cases, President’s Rule in a particular state of the Union (through Article 356).Article 355, as it currently exists, was not in the 1948 draft constitution, and was only added in September 1949 (as draft Article 277A). It was inserted with the objective of providing a legitimate ground for the application of Article 356 of the constitution, which allows the Union government to issue a proclamation of President’s Rule in a specific state. Because imposing President’s Rule in a state is considered an extreme measure, the drafters of the constitution felt this insertion was necessary.It may be noted that Article 355 has never been imposed on a state without Article 356 in Indian political history.
