Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh along with his MLAs and Ministers from the ruling BJP met Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya on Sunday for the second time in two consecutive days, seeking the control of the Unified Command and abrogation of the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement with the Kuki militant groups.

Before today’s meeting, Chief Minister Singh along with ruling MLAs met the Governor on Saturday evening too and briefed him about the fresh violence in the state that took six lives in Jiribam district.

According to reports, the Sunday meeting, which took place for hours, was a follow-up meeting between the CM and the Governor, which lasted over 30 minutes on Saturday night at Raj Bhawan, in Imphal.

Today’s meeting, according to the report, regarding the demand for adequate powers and responsibilities to the elected state government as per the Constitution by handing over Unified Command, which brings Central and State forces and local administration together to ensure the maintenance of law and order in the state.

The Unified Command was formed by the Centre in May 2023, with Kuldiep Singh, former Director General of CRPF, taking its Command in order to control the ethnic conflict in the state.

The list of demands includes another crucial request to abolish the Suspension of Operations agreement between the government and Kuki insurgent groups, allowing the security forces to take decisive action.

Earlier this year, an all-party meeting in Manipur urged both the Centre and the state government to annul the agreement, enabling security forces to launch comprehensive operations against the Kuki insurgents.

During the meeting, which was presided over by the Chief Minister, Opposition MLAs raised concerns about why the Centre and the state government had not disclosed the imposition of Article 355 of the Constitution in Manipur.

Article 355 obligates the Union to safeguard every state against external aggression and internal disturbance, and its invocation indicates that the state is perilously close to being placed under President’s rule.

The Chief Minister’s advocacy for the Unified Command Authority is perceived as an attempt to consolidate authority and streamline decision-making within the state’s security structure.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each for the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for those injured in the building collapse at Transport Nagar in Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow on Saturday evening.

According to officials, the incident, which involved a three-storeyed medical warehouse collapsing, resulted in the deaths of eight people and left 28 others injured. The injured people were admitted to three hospitals in the Krishna Nagar area, with some already discharged.

PM Modi expressed his grief over the loss of lives due to the building collapse and also prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured people.

In a post on X, PM Modi said, “The loss of lives due to a building mishap in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, is saddening. Prayers with those who lost their loved ones. May the injured recover soon.”  

“An ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000,” he added.

Lucknow’s Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order), Amit Verma, announced that a committee will be formed to investigate the building collapse.

Speaking to news agency ANI, Verma said a committee will investigate the reasons behind the collapse. Structural engineers and experts will provide insights into the cause, he added.

Meanwhile, an FIR has been registered against Rakesh Singhal, the owner of the Harmilap Building in the incident.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has also directed officials to expedite relief efforts. He had also asked officials to promptly transport the injured to the hospital for proper treatment. CM Yogi has also wished for the speedy recovery of the injured.

Additional Director General of Law and Order Amitabh Yash said that CM Yogi is continuously reviewing the situation and the relief and rescue operations.

The Chief Minister paid his condolences to the people who lost their lives in the incident.

Taking to X, he said the loss of life due to the collapse of a building in Lucknow district is extremely sad and heartbreaking. “My condolences are with the grieving families of the deceased,” he added.

He said instructions have been given to the concerned officials to conduct relief and rescue operations on a war footing and provide proper treatment to the injured. “I pray to Lord Shri Ram to give a place to the departed souls in his feet and provide speedy recovery to the injured,” CM added.

National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Sunday said the BJP top brass was focussing its election campaign on Jammu as they want to intimidate the Hindu voters of Jammu and Kashmir by creating false fears.

Abdullah also accused the BJP of misleading the people by claiming that terrorism would rise again if the National Conference and Congress alliance came to power in Jammu and Kashmir.

“BJP wants to threaten the Hindu community. They think the Hindus will vote for them but today the Hindus have changed. First, they sought votes in the name of Ram and now they want to intimidate them,”  Abdullah charged.

National Conference leaders Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah paid tributes to the founding leader of the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference and father of Farooq Abdullah, Sheikh Abdullah on his 42nd death anniversary, in Srinagar.

Speaking to reporters after paying tribute, he said BJP repealed Article 370 of the Constitution but did terrorism end. Terrorism is rising again and it is all their responsibility, he added.

Abdullah was responding to a question on why Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah were campaigning in Jammu while ignoring Kashmir.

Reacting to Shah’s criticism of the NC-Congress coalition during his visit to Jammu, the former Chief Minister said he was only trying to malign his party.

“National Conference will win. I only want to say to Amit Shah that we are against the India they want to create. The country belongs to everyone. Those who are raising their voice against Muslims should know that Muslims have also sacrificed their lives for the freedom of this country,” he said.

 “But, God willing they won’t succeed. Our efforts will pave the way to serve for the betterment of our people. The Home Minister can keep saying as much about us as he wants but I want to tell him that we are against that Bharat, which they want to create. Bharat belongs to all — Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists.

“We are not intruders. We and not snatching away mangalsutra. Muslims have an equal contribution towards the freedom of India,” he added.

On restoration of statehood, Abdullah said the NC-Congress alliance would get it back. On BJP manifesto for Jammu and Kashmir polls, he said it was just a “jumla” (rhetoric).