Manipur Deputy Chief Minister Yumnam Joykumar has been stripped of all his portfolios after four ministers of his party, National People’s Party (NPP) was asked to resign from the BJP-led coalition government.
A notification issued by the State’s Chief Secretary J. Suresh Babu on Thursday made Mr. Joykumar, a former Director-General of Police, Manipur’s first Deputy CM without a portfolio. It said Mr. Joykumar’s portfolios, including that of Forest, Environment and Climate Change, have been reallocated to the Chief Minister.
Earlier in the day, the BJP had asked the NPP ministers to resign because of “irresponsible and derogatory” remarks Mr. Joykumar allegedly made about the Chief Minister. The Deputy CM had reportedly referred to Mr. Biren as a “mentally-deranged person” when a group of women met him to complain about not receiving rice rationed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
