Imphal, June 25: Manipur chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh’s downsizing worries were today eased by his ministers, who indicated they would follow the example of their Meghalaya counterparts and resign rather than be dropped from the government. Lok Sabha member Thokchom Meinya Singh confirmed the development over phone from New Delhi. “As in Meghalaya, all ministers in the Secular Progressive Front (SPF) government are likely to resign en masse. But the resignations will be accepted only after the downsizing details are finalised in New Delhi and the chief minister returns to Imphal,” he said.
Meinya Singh and the chief minister reached the capital on Wednesday to seek the Congress high command’s advice on pruning the 33-member ministry to 12 in accordance with a constitutional amendment. However, the duo had not met either Prime Minister Manmohan Singh or Congress chief Sonia Gandhi till late this afternoon.
“Both of them have been busy. We might meet them in the evening,” the Lok Sabha member said.
Ibobi Singh is expected to return after attending a conclave of chief ministers in the capital on Monday. The deadline for downsizing the ministry is July 6. None of the northeastern states has yet complied with the new constitutional requirement.
The Congress, which has the maximum number of legislators in the ruling SPF, is expected to get as many as 10 of the 12 ministerial berths at stake. The CPI and the Manipur State Congress Party are the frontrunners for the remaining two seats.