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The Nationalist Congress Party on Saturday withdrew support to the Congress-led ruling Secular Progressive Front in Manipur following the defection of all its three legislators to the Congress, but the development posed no threat to the five-month old Okram Ibobi Singh coalition ministry.
Blaming the Congress for encouraging defection and violating the agreement reached among SPF partners, NCP state unit president S Tiken Singh said in a statement that the decision to withdraw support was taken at the party's executive committee meeting.
The three NCP members -- Forest Minister C Doungel, Revenue Minister E Biramani Singh and Minister of State for Works L Radhakishore Singh -- had split the NCP and formed the NCP (Democratic) before merging it with the Congress on June 19.
The strength of the SPF in the 60-member house rose to 41 subsequently after eleven legislators in all, including three of the opposition Samata Party joined the Congress.
Singh said as per the memorandum of understanding reached between coalition partners on February 26 this year, it had been agreed that the Front would 'not allow or entertain defection'.
Singh said it was because of this understanding that the NCP had joined the ruling SPF to install a stable government in the state led by Congress, which had now violated this agreement.
Meanwhile, two other coalition partners, MSCP from which three of the five members went over to the Congress on June 19 and CPI, which has five legislators, expressed unhappiness over the defections and said they were rethinking support to the SPF, sources in the two parties said.
The chief minister, who is also the state Congress president, had earlier claimed that the joining of eleven legislators with his party would not affect other Front constituents.
The partywise break up of the five-party SPF is: Congress 31, CPI 5, Manipur State Congress Party 2, Democratic People's Party 2 and Manipur National Conference one.
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