CM off to right start with Delhi sojourn ? Date with PM : First in 3 years
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Fruitful. This is one word that comes to mind if one takes a long, hard look at the Delhi sojourn of Chief Minister Y Khemchand and his two deputies. Left Imphal on February 21 and in a span of 3/4 days, the newly inducted Chief Minister has met the who is who of Delhi including the Union Home Minister, Defence Minister, Finance Minister, DoNER Minister and most importantly the Prime Minister. A sort of an accomplishment, one may say, if one takes into account the fact that after May 3, 2023, none of the political leaders of Manipur have ever been granted an audience by the Prime Minister. Even when Narendra Modi visited Manipur on September 13, 2025, he did not take the trouble of meeting any of the political leaders or BJP MLAs at Imphal. Manipur was then under President’s Rule, but the Assembly was not dissolved and the MLAs remained MLAs and even then the BJP supremo from Delhi did not deem it fit to have a face to face meeting with the State BJP leaders. This is where the audience granted by the Prime Minister to Khemchand and his two deputies, Nemcha Kipgen and Losii Dikho, becomes all that more significant. Details of what were discussed are not yet known, but the significance of the meeting is not lost on anyone, particularly those who have been closely following the political developments in the State. And even as the finer details of the meeting with the Prime Minister have not come to the public domain, it is also still not clear when the Ministry would be expanded. To many, the primary objective of the Chief Minister’s visit to Delhi was in connection with the Ministry expansion, but so far nothing has been spelt out on this. Uncertain is the word that comes to mind when any talk veers towards the Ministry expansion, and one wonders how long the present arrangement would continue. Apart from the long time it has taken to expand the Council of Ministers and fill in the remaining 7 vacant slots, the new Chief Minister seems to be taking the right steps, if the meeting granted with the Prime Minister is anything to go by. In a way it is also surprising to see that the focus of the people and the Government seems to be on the Ministry expansion while the more urgent and more pressing point should be on taking Manipur to the path of normalcy. A point which has been touched upon and stressed many times in this column and if one takes a look at the reality and the way Manipur has been proceeding from one ‘development’ to the other, the answer should lie with Delhi. As repeatedly said, all it would need is for the Union Home Minister to wag his fingers and tell everyone to fall in line. That this has not happened so far is something that is very clear.
The Chief Minister is likely to return soon and one will have to wait and see what tidings he brings from Delhi, that is if there is anything additional that needs to be said, but it is more than evident that the Delhi trip this time has rather been fruitful. Fruitful in the sense that the Chief Minister managed to meet the Prime Minister, other than a host of other Union Ministers. More than enough indication that if the Prime Minister wishes, he can certainly set aside some time to meet BJP leaders from Manipur. Hence the question why this was not the case earlier. Manipur has seen enough bloodshed, enough violence and it has been in the limelight for all the wrong reasons for decades, with things taking a turn for the worse after May 3, 2023. The question is whether the new Chief Minister will be able to go some way to address some of the pressing issues of the State. Only time can tell, and while the first task before the Government is taking Manipur to the path of normalcy, to be understood as opening the National Highways to all, free movement across the length and breadth of the State and resettlement of the IDPs, the Chief Minister and his team will need to ensure that everything is back on track. As far as Imphal is concerned, the first step should be to ensure that the severe inconveniences being faced due to the laying of the cement concrete roads are addressed to. It goes against development when a two way lane is turned to a one way lane for days, in the name of laying the cement concrete road.
The Chief Minister is likely to return soon and one will have to wait and see what tidings he brings from Delhi, that is if there is anything additional that needs to be said, but it is more than evident that the Delhi trip this time has rather been fruitful. Fruitful in the sense that the Chief Minister managed to meet the Prime Minister, other than a host of other Union Ministers. More than enough indication that if the Prime Minister wishes, he can certainly set aside some time to meet BJP leaders from Manipur. Hence the question why this was not the case earlier. Manipur has seen enough bloodshed, enough violence and it has been in the limelight for all the wrong reasons for decades, with things taking a turn for the worse after May 3, 2023. The question is whether the new Chief Minister will be able to go some way to address some of the pressing issues of the State. Only time can tell, and while the first task before the Government is taking Manipur to the path of normalcy, to be understood as opening the National Highways to all, free movement across the length and breadth of the State and resettlement of the IDPs, the Chief Minister and his team will need to ensure that everything is back on track. As far as Imphal is concerned, the first step should be to ensure that the severe inconveniences being faced due to the laying of the cement concrete roads are addressed to. It goes against development when a two way lane is turned to a one way lane for days, in the name of laying the cement concrete road.