Manipur chief minister N. Biren Singh stepped down on Sunday, after months of political turmoil and unrelenting violence in the state under his watch, submitting his resignation to Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla.

Singh’s resignation has done little to appease the Opposition, which sees it as an attempt by the BJP to contain the fallout rather than a genuine course correction.

The Congress, Trinamul Congress (TMC), and other opposition parties on Monday launched a scathing attack on the Narendra Modi government, accusing it of allowing Singh to continue despite nearly two years of ethnic strife.

Rahul Gandhi: ‘PM must visit Manipur at once’

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi linked Biren Singh’s resignation to mounting public anger, the Supreme Court’s scrutiny, and the no-confidence motion moved by the Congress.

“For nearly two years, BJP’s CM Biren Singh instigated division in Manipur. PM Modi allowed him to continue despite the violence, loss of life, and the destruction of the idea of India in Manipur,” Rahul said. Calling the resignation a "reckoning," Rahul said that Modi should visit Manipur and outline a plan to restore peace.

“The most urgent priority is to restore peace in the state and work to heal the wounds of the people,” he added.

Mallikarjun Kharge: ‘Too late, the damage is done’

“The resignation of BJP’s Manipur CM is like ‘shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted’! It is painful to say that for 21 months, the BJP ignited a fire in Manipur and left the people across communities to fend for themselves,” Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said.

Kharge laid out grim statistics: “258 people have died, more than 5,600 arms & 6.5 lakh rounds of ammunition were looted from police armouries, more than 60,000 people displaced, and thousands still forced to live in relief camps.”

Taking direct aim at PM Modi, Kharge said: “Modi ji has not stepped on Manipur’s soil since his last election campaign in January 2022, although he had time to visit several foreign countries in between.”

Priyanka Gandhi: 'Long overdue'

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra echoed similar sentiments, calling Biren Singh’s exit “long overdue.”

“For two years, this has been carrying on in Manipur,” she said.

Mahua Moitra: 'Hope this is the first step'

TMC leader Mahua Moitra, known for her sharp critiques of the Modi government, minced no words.

“After 648 days of shameless intransigence @NBirenSingh finally resigns before losing no-confidence. Hope this is the first step for the Union government to wake up to Manipur’s existence & the plight of its people,” Moitra wrote on X.

Jairam Ramesh: Amit Shah should resign

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh shifted the focus to Union home minister Amit Shah, holding him responsible for the crisis.

“The former Manipur CM was only the puppet. The PM had outsourced the entire Manipur issue to the home minister. It’s the home minister who should resign,” Ramesh said.

Shashi Tharoor: 'Want govt to show bit more seriousness'

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said: “The case against the CM is so incontrovertible that even within his own party there seems to be not enough support for a potential no-confidence motion that we were planning to introduce. We want the government to show a bit more seriousness.”

Kirti Azad: ‘Manipur is still burning’

TMC leader Kirti Azad did said: “N Biren Singh should have resigned earlier, but the way atrocities that happened in the last two years were neglected—rapes, arson—it’s clear they could not control it.”

“They would have thought that resignation will be taken when the situation normalises, but they should know that Manipur is still burning, and if anyone is responsible, then it is the BJP,” he added.

Shiv Sena (UBT), RJD join attack

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut slammed the prime minister. “The CM is responsible for the violence. Some audios went viral… PM has not made a visit there yet,” he said.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said: "It's too little, too late. After two years of the people of Manipur demanding his resignation... the voices still persisted and the Home Minister continued to support Mr Biren Singh. It's because they knew a no-confidence motion was coming and feared that their own party MLAs would vote in favour of the no-confidence motion moved by the Congress party, which is why he was forced to resign."

RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha also called Singh’s resignation “too little, too late.”

Azad Samaj Party MP Chandra Shekhar Azad argued that Singh should not have been allowed to simply resign.

“He should not have merely resigned—legal action should have been taken against him. If the central government, Modi ji, had taken a firm stand on the respect of women, I believe they would have been removed,” Azad said.

BJP MP Pratap Chandra Sarangi suggested that the situation in Manipur was under control and blamed the Congress for “disturbing” the state.

“Our government had controlled the situation in Manipur, but Congress is trying everything to disturb the situation there. Congress has friendly relations with all the anti-India forces and international forces, including China and Pakistan,” he claimed.