Manipur Election 2017: CM Ibobi Singh asks guv to invite Cong to form govt, accuses BJP of having no principles

Imphal: In a late night press conference on Sunday, Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh said that he has requested Manipur Governor Najma Heptullah to invite the Congress to form the government as they were the single largest party. [caption id=“attachment_3331888” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Ibobi Singh. Facebook[/caption] “I went to the Raj Bhavan, met the governor and urged her to give the Congress the first chance to show strength on the floor of the House because the Congress is single largest party. I am hoping that governor will do justice,“he said on Sunday. The chief minister paraded all 27 congress MLAs as a show of strength before the media. Reacting to news of MLA Shyamkumar Singh defecting to the BJP,  Singh said that there had been no defections. “There have been no resignations and therefore no defections. If he crosses the floor then he will be in violation of the tenth schedule,“he said. Calling the BJP opportunistic, Ibobi Singh said that the BJP had categorically denied tie-ups with the Naga People’s Front ahead of the Assembly elections. “The BJP has no principles. Before the election, they announced no ties with NPF. Now they are saying they are tying up with NPF. The people of Manipur will never accept ties with a party that is hell-bent on breaking up Manipur,” he said. Reacting to Ibobi Singh’s press conference, BJP general secretary Ram Madhav said that the incumbent CM cannot stake claim to form government since he has not resigned yet. “We have shown the governor our names and have told her that we are prepared to form the government. For Ibobi Singh to stake claim he needs to resign first,“said Madhav.