New Delhi, August 19: Turning the table on the Congress in Manipur, the BJP on Wednesday welcomed five former Congress MLAs, who had resigned from the party amid the political instability in the northeastern state, into the saffron party here in the presence of BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav.

Among those who joined the BJP was Congress leader and former Manipur Chief Minister Ibobi Singh's nephew Okram Henry, who called the NDA government in the state a "people's government". "I love how they work. That is why I joined the BJP. I want the party to grow," said Henry, adding that people had lost "trust" in the Congress government, so they brought the NDA into power. Nitin Gadkari to Lay Foundation Stone of 13 National Highway Projects in Manipur.

Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh along with party leader Jay Panda was also present when the five former Congress MLAs joined the BJP in the national capital. In fact, it was Panda who handed over the party membership to each of the five former Congressmen. "With this, the political instability in Manipur is over for now," said Madhav.

The Biren Singh-led government recently faced uncertainty after nine MLAs, including four from the NPP, three from the BJP, one of the Trinamool Congress and one Independent member, withdrew support in mid-June. However, the situation was salvaged after the four NPP MLAs were flown into Delhi where they met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and party President J.P. Nadda.

Drawing a comparison between Rajasthan and Manipur, Ram Madhav alleged, "The Congress was doing exactly the same in Manipur what it has wrongfully alleged us of doing in Rajasthan." He claimed that unlike in Rajasthan, where the Congress MLAs did not want to resign, the five Manipur MLAs have resigned to join the BJP, which shows their faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP government's developmental work in the state.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 19, 2020 06:06 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).