Discard the ‘politics of clash’ Tasks before new Govt
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In zeroing in on Yumnam Khemchand as the Chief Minister of Manipur after nearly a year of President’s Rule, it is now the job of the Centre to ensure that all possible co-operation is extended to the newly installed popular Government. Judging from the manner in which things moved swiftly in the last four/five days, starting from naming BJP National General Secretary Tarun Chugh as the Central observer to oversee the election/selection of the BJP Legislature Party leader, to naming Khemchand as the man, to the revocation of President’s Rule and the swearing in of Khemchand as the Chief Minister and four other MLAs in the Council of Ministers, the BJP Government demonstrated that it can act swiftly and with conviction if it desires and this is where one is left wondering why the ethnic clash and stand off has been ‘allowed’ to fester for nearly three years now. Time for Delhi to ensure that the prevalent train of thought that the popular Government has been allowed to return has nothing to do with taking Manipur closer to the understanding of normalcy but is done to put the BJP on a firmer wicket before the scheduled 2027 Assembly elections. The same sense of purpose, the resoluteness shown in paving the way for the Khemchand led Government to assume office should be extended to the task of resolving the issue which dates back to May 3, 2023. This is where Delhi would need to address the issue in all sincerity and with a sense of purpose. The focus of Delhi should not be lost and the first step towards this end should be to ensure that the ‘dissenting voices’ which have come along with ‘threats’ and ‘intimidations’ against the Kuki-Zo MLAs for having joined the newly installed Government are dealt with firmly. As noted more than once here, it should not take much for Delhi to let the Union Home Minister lift a finger and silence the dissenting voices. It does not need rocket science to understand from where the muscle and vocal power have come while berating the MLAs for having joined the Council of Ministers and for attending the swearing in ceremony at Lok Bhavan. This is the first step that should be taken up for if left unchecked this can take on a larger and uglier turn. Next obviously should be to open the National Highways, a task which the PR regime utterly failed while following the free movement from March 8 call of the Union Home Minister in 2025. The resettlement of all displaced persons, on either side, should be given the needed push and the guns that have been used to terrorise the people who have decided to go back to the place they once called home should be silenced. Not an impossible task for the Central security personnel who are spread out across the length and breadth of the State. The number one priority of the newly installed Government under Yumnam Khemchand should obviously be ushering in normalcy, and this is where no rooms should be created to prolong the politics of conflict. Something Delhi can do, if it is willing.
With a Naga and a Kuki named as Deputy Chief Ministers, Khemchand may have just the right combination to try and reach out to all sections of the people. This is what Manipur desperately needs, for the time of each community championing its own cause will no longer work for the overall benefits of the State. It was with a reason why The Sangai Express had repeatedly urged the Government, before PR was imposed, to try and use the good office of the NPF and see what steps may be taken up to take Manipur closer to the understanding of normalcy. With an MLA from the NPF now made a Deputy Chief Minister, now is the right time to take this suggestion more seriously. It is also only right that the Government under the new Chief Minister also try and see how it can take the Congress along in its efforts to bring in normalcy. And this is where Delhi would need to go one up from petty politics and acknowledge that the stake is Manipur and this should cut across political lines. Nearly 36 months of mindless stand off and violence should be enough time for people on either side to come to admit that the continued confrontation and stand off will not leave any future to the younger generations.
With a Naga and a Kuki named as Deputy Chief Ministers, Khemchand may have just the right combination to try and reach out to all sections of the people. This is what Manipur desperately needs, for the time of each community championing its own cause will no longer work for the overall benefits of the State. It was with a reason why The Sangai Express had repeatedly urged the Government, before PR was imposed, to try and use the good office of the NPF and see what steps may be taken up to take Manipur closer to the understanding of normalcy. With an MLA from the NPF now made a Deputy Chief Minister, now is the right time to take this suggestion more seriously. It is also only right that the Government under the new Chief Minister also try and see how it can take the Congress along in its efforts to bring in normalcy. And this is where Delhi would need to go one up from petty politics and acknowledge that the stake is Manipur and this should cut across political lines. Nearly 36 months of mindless stand off and violence should be enough time for people on either side to come to admit that the continued confrontation and stand off will not leave any future to the younger generations.