Manipur Deputy CM continues to hold Civil Aviation, Taxation portfolios

Manipur Deputy Chief Minister Yumnam Joykumar Singh continues to hold the Civil Aviation and Taxation portfolios, officials clarified on Friday.

The clarification comes after an order issued by chief secretary J Suresh Babu on Thursday said Singh's portfolios were allocated to Chief Minister N Biren Singh, soon after a row erupted over a controversial comment.

Yumnam Joykumar Singh continues to hold the Civil Aviation and Taxation portfolios, an official at the Raj Bhavan told PTI.

It was also confirmed by an officer at the Chief Minister's Office.

The deputy chief minister was in charge of the housing and urban development, forest, environment and climate change, science and technology, and economics and statistics, besides the less significant civil aviation and taxation departments.

The BJP had demanded the deputy chief minister's resignation for his controversial remarks against N Biren Singh over the distribution of rice to the people during the ongoing lockdown.

Yumnam Joykumar Singh is the leader of the legislature party of the National People's Party (NPP) in Manipur, a coalition partner of the BJP-led government in the state.

At present all four MLAs elected on NPP tickets are cabinet ministers in the coalition government in Manipur.