Why they are not able to disqualify those 10 Kuki MLAs who are trying to break the territorial integrity of Manipur and why they failed to suspend SOO agreement between the Kuki militants and the Central Government when the talks of disarmament in the state came up? Why are they apprehending weapons from valley areas only and not from Kuki inhabited hilly regions?
By Urus Ningthemcha
It’s been over four months since the ethnic clash between Meeteis and Kuki Chin-Mizo community broke out and still it’s not showing any sign of abatement. It’s quite flummoxing to have witnessed such an ethnic clash dragging on for this long in a democratic country like India. The previous clashes or riots taking place in India were curtailed within a week, even the infamous 2002 Gujarat riots were for three days only, though it was much more violent and the number of victims was far greater than the present ethnic clash in Manipur. Subsequently their bound to raise the suspicious questions like, “why such a big failure in containing the crisis in Manipur?” and “Is it intentional on the Central Government’s part due to its own hidden agendas?“ on the minds of the people of Manipur. Thus, it’s of utmost importance for the BJP led Central Government to handle this with a lot of care or else it may snowball into something completely out of hand.
However, one thing which is more disturbing than the degree of indifference shown by the Central Government is the overall ignorant or lethargic attitude of the State Government, here again led by BJP. Mr. Modi, the Honourable PM of India, beats his chest often times proclaiming his “double-engine” governance meaning BJP led governments in both the Centre and the State is the highest example of exemplary governance. Unfortunately, we are yet to see even a glimpse of this so called impeccable governance in the context of the current ethnic clash in Manipur. We, the people of Manipur are really eager to have an ounce of this perfect governance only to be able to douse the burning flames of hatred, mistrust, suspicion, confusion and fear in our beloved motherland Manipur or Kangleipaak.
Amidst this political mess, the Manipuri parliamentarians mainly the CM of the State, N. Biren Singh who is also holding the Office of Home has really been ineffective in curbing the conflict. What we have now in Manipur is a proxy government as the virtual President Rule is in place. Since the Home Affairs of India, headed by Mr. Amit Shah already appointed a Security Advisor named Mr. Kuldeep Singh, handing over all the security measures power, the CM of the State is rendered powerless. So, the Article 355 is imposed instead of Article 356 which can be seen as an effort to save face for the BJP led Central Government. The General Election is just a few months away and BJP doesn’t want to take any chances by imposing PR in Manipur which may lead to dissolving the present State Cabinet led by BJP. It’s highly unlikely that BJP may get back in power in case a re-election is held in Manipur. Hence, the facade of stability should remain tight in the state for the sake of the bigger picture which is none other than the General Election next year.
The people are not pleased with the CM because he couldn’t control the agitating mob in Churachandpur district which burned down the Open Gym he was supposed to inaugurate and consequently failed to understand the gravity of the mass tribal rally on the 3rd of May, 2023 in the same district. Had it been controlled we would not have to see this minor agitation escalating to this ethnic clash which has been burning Manipur from last four months. Now let bygones be bygones but what measures has he taken up so far since then? He couldn’t take a strong stand against those 10 Kuki MLAs who are asking for a Separate Administration and refused to attend the Assembly Session which again was dissolved within 15 minutes. Moreover, these 10 Kuki MLAs held a meet with the Mizoram CM Zoramthanga in Mizoram discussing the future prospects of this clash and still being lenient to this set of renegade MLAs. He is not even willing to abdicate his position and walk together with the people and pressure the Central Government to take up some drastic measures to end the violence. Not only him but all the remaining parliamentarians are also trying to play political games at such a critical time.
Why they are not able to disqualify those 10 Kuki MLAs who are trying to break the territorial integrity of Manipur and why they failed to suspend SOO agreement between the Kuki militants and the Central Government when the talks of disarmament in the state came up? Why are they apprehending weapons from valley areas only and not from Kuki inhabited hilly regions? Why are they allowing the Kukis to brandish their sophisticated weapons at their rallies and not trying to disperse it but use force against Meeteis’ protest by resorting to caning, firing rubber bullets and tear gas? Why they let such a big mishap like EGI report which is nothing sort of a libel? These are the questions which are troubling the people of Manipur since the onset of this ethnic clash. This vividly shows how ineffective the Manipur Parliamentarians have been in the face of this inhumane political crisis. If they continue to act like this then there might come a day when the people completely lose faith in them and take up their own measures to bring back at least a semblance of peace and tranquillity in the state. That day won’t be a welcoming one for our parliamentarians.