Spadework needed for normalcy to return Ball in the court of Delhi
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The talk of the town is when the popular Government will return as well as who will be anointed as the Chief Minister. The one year itch is certainly catching up, but in all the talks doing the round on Government formation not one, repeat not one single BJP MLA, has deemed it fit to talk of any roadmap they may have to take Manipur closer to the understanding of normalcy. This is what is flabbergasting. The popular Government was told to go in the face of the utter failure to stop the violence and put Manipur on the track of normalcy even after nearly two years of the violence erupting in all its ugliness on May 3, 2023 and even after nearly a year of PR coming in, there is nothing to suggest that the BJP MLAs have pooled in their minds and discussed ways that would take Manipur to normalcy. Instead what is doing the round is when the popularly elected Government would be reinstalled. The priority is obviously all wrong. What Manipur needs at the moment is normalcy and not whether the popular Government returns or not. And for normalcy to return, taking the first step towards this is indispensable. Did the BJP MLAs ever sit down together to share thoughts on what steps need to be taken up once they return to power ? There is nothing to suggest that any thought has been given to this and on the contrary the focus of all the elected Members as well as the public seems to be on the return of the popular Government. This is what is galling. A sure sign that nothing has been learnt from the mayhem that followed May 3, 2023. Delhi may have worked out certain course of action and the ‘convincing’ done for the seven Kuki BJP MLAs to fall in line could just be the first step towards normalcy. Meitei MLAs and Kuki MLAs sitting down together in the same Government and sharing thoughts and ideas on how to normalise the situation could be the right start. However it is not clear whether the BJP MLAs, as a whole, have discussed this or not. For the Congress, this is perhaps the time for them to extend the hand of co-operation for remember Kuki MLAs and Meitei MLAs will be sitting down under a Government, a Government in which both sides have equal stake. The Naga MLAs, irrespective of which political party they belong to, can also chip in and act as the plank between the two groups to ensure that their presence will at least go some distance in bridging any misunderstanding, for what is at stake is Manipur and her people. Much will also depend on the sincerity of the Government of India in dealing with the matter, the first being acknowledging that though the groups under SoO have never been mentioned as a player in the violence, the fact that Delhi has felt the need to reach out to them to bring everything in line is too significant not to notice. Manipur very well knows the hand that engineered the Separate Administration call, though this was fired from the shoulder of the ten Kuki-Zo MLAs.
No one knows if and when the popular Government would return, but the air is thick with speculations. Delhi is also keeping the card close to its chest and while no one knows who would be named as the next Chief Minister, already three/four names are doing the round as potential candidates for the hot seat. It should however not be forgotten that the first priority of the Government, when it comes about, is the resettlement of the displaced persons. Former Chief Secretary PK Singh had announced that it would take time for the displaced Meiteis to return to the place they once called home at Churachandpur, Moreh and Kangpokpi and while the logic in this announcement is understandable, not a word was said about the return of the Kuki-Chin-Zo people who had to leave Imphal. Will the return of the popular Government help to pave the way for the displaced folks to return home ? Or at least can spadeworks toward this be worked out ? Thoughts ought to be given to these points and the joining of the Kuki-Zo MLAs in Government formation can be the first step towards this. Delhi can be credited for having paved the way and if and when the popular Government comes back, it should be the first call of the BJP MLAs to work towards this. Reach out to all section of people, sit down together, discuss and talk things over to pave the way for all the displaced folks to return home, whether it is at Churachandpur, Moreh, Kangpokpi or Imphal and any of the other valley districts. The return of the popular Government should live up to the understanding of the term popular.
No one knows if and when the popular Government would return, but the air is thick with speculations. Delhi is also keeping the card close to its chest and while no one knows who would be named as the next Chief Minister, already three/four names are doing the round as potential candidates for the hot seat. It should however not be forgotten that the first priority of the Government, when it comes about, is the resettlement of the displaced persons. Former Chief Secretary PK Singh had announced that it would take time for the displaced Meiteis to return to the place they once called home at Churachandpur, Moreh and Kangpokpi and while the logic in this announcement is understandable, not a word was said about the return of the Kuki-Chin-Zo people who had to leave Imphal. Will the return of the popular Government help to pave the way for the displaced folks to return home ? Or at least can spadeworks toward this be worked out ? Thoughts ought to be given to these points and the joining of the Kuki-Zo MLAs in Government formation can be the first step towards this. Delhi can be credited for having paved the way and if and when the popular Government comes back, it should be the first call of the BJP MLAs to work towards this. Reach out to all section of people, sit down together, discuss and talk things over to pave the way for all the displaced folks to return home, whether it is at Churachandpur, Moreh, Kangpokpi or Imphal and any of the other valley districts. The return of the popular Government should live up to the understanding of the term popular.