Delhi decides who is named CM Farce of a reason for PR
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Things have certainly moved fast since the evening of February 9. Or make that February 8. On February 8 evening the then Chief Minister N Biren Singh was summoned to Delhi and the next day he returned and submitted his resignation paper to Governor AK Bhalla. In between, the Governor had to cut short a trip and return to Imphal. All these happened just 48 hours before the Assembly session was to start on February 10. With the Chief Minister putting in his paper, Governor Bhalla lost no time in declaring the scheduled session null and void. Raj Bhavan then became the destination of not only the who is who of the political world but also for the media which had to be on its toes to report any development including who has visited the place. After Raj Bhavan, the focus was on Hotel Imphal, where BJP’s man for the moment and in charge of the North East Sambit Patra had put up. Raj Bhavan, Hotel Imphal to a lesser extent and it was while the focus of Manipur was on these two places, came the report that the Assembly has been put under suspended animation and President’s Rule has been imposed. The 11th President’s Rule, taking Manipur to the top spot among States in India where PR has been imposed most frequently, with Uttar Pradesh following closely behind with 10. This was on February 13 and a look at the timeline should leave no one in doubt on how fast Delhi moved to bring Manipur under PR. Resignation on February 9 and named caretaker Chief Minister, eyes on Raj Bhavan and Hotel Imphal on February 10, 11 and 12 with Secretary to the Governor Sumant Singh reportedly taking the last flight to Delhi from Imphal at 5.20 pm. A brief look back at the last 6 days and Manipur now has to look forward. And look forward to what ? Will a change in Chief Minister help put Manipur on the track of normalcy ? Was the Chief Minister asked to put in his paper because he failed to control the situation or was it for something else, primarily because of the no-confidence motion move initiated by the Congress, with the backing of dissident BJP MLAs ? Manipur is under a spell of PR but the questions that have been raised should be understood within the line, ‘look forward to what ?’ It is also interesting to note that the focus of the people and the interested persons in other parts of the country has shifted from the ongoing clash between the Meiteis and Kukis to the political developments in the last few days but to many the two are inextricably linked.
There will be different takes on whether PR has been imposed to help take Manipur to the path of normalcy or to score a political point or two, the first being to blunt the no-confidence motion scheduled to be moved by the Congress with the active support of some dissident MLAs. Or is it a question of the dissident BJP MLAs failing to come together and project a unanimous name as the leader of the pack who can be made the Chief Minister ? Looking at the past conduct of all National political parties, this line of thought may just not have many buyers, for the past is more than enough indication that it is the Central leadership which decides who should be named the Chief Minister. Wasn’t this the case when N Biren Singh was chosen as the leader of the BJP to be made the Chief Minister after the 2017 Assembly polls ? Wasn’t the same practise followed when the Congress emerged the single largest part here after the 2002 Assembly election and the Secular Progressive Front Government was formed with other like minded political parties ? Failure to come to a consensus name to be the Chief Minister can at best be just another ploy to put the blame on the BJP legislators for PR to come in. If Delhi had any sincere intention to resolve the political impasse here, it could have zeroed in on a name to be made the Chief Minister. That this has not been done so is there for all to see and the hollowness of reasoning the PR imposition on the ground that the BJP MLAs failed to come to a consensus candidate rings hollow and sounds farcical. And herein lies the tragedy as well as a tale.
There will be different takes on whether PR has been imposed to help take Manipur to the path of normalcy or to score a political point or two, the first being to blunt the no-confidence motion scheduled to be moved by the Congress with the active support of some dissident MLAs. Or is it a question of the dissident BJP MLAs failing to come together and project a unanimous name as the leader of the pack who can be made the Chief Minister ? Looking at the past conduct of all National political parties, this line of thought may just not have many buyers, for the past is more than enough indication that it is the Central leadership which decides who should be named the Chief Minister. Wasn’t this the case when N Biren Singh was chosen as the leader of the BJP to be made the Chief Minister after the 2017 Assembly polls ? Wasn’t the same practise followed when the Congress emerged the single largest part here after the 2002 Assembly election and the Secular Progressive Front Government was formed with other like minded political parties ? Failure to come to a consensus name to be the Chief Minister can at best be just another ploy to put the blame on the BJP legislators for PR to come in. If Delhi had any sincere intention to resolve the political impasse here, it could have zeroed in on a name to be made the Chief Minister. That this has not been done so is there for all to see and the hollowness of reasoning the PR imposition on the ground that the BJP MLAs failed to come to a consensus candidate rings hollow and sounds farcical. And herein lies the tragedy as well as a tale.