A bombshell of a resignation : Standing against 'lies'
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: April 16, 2023 -

It is loaded with meaning and many may have read between the lines leaving many squirming in their armchair in discomfort.

On April 13, Heirok Assembly Constituency MLA from the BJP and former IPS officer Th Radheshyam came close to the understanding of the line, ‘resigning with a bang.’

The MLA did not just resign as an Advisor to Chief Minister N Biren but also thundered the line, ‘Let’s stop telling lies, let’s speak only the truth.’

The MLA went on to qualify this line with his observation, “Of late there had been much talks on saving the territory of Manipur.. There is also an Act which prohibits sale of land to outsiders and conversion of agricultural land for commercial space.

Notwithstanding the Act, people have seen large swathes of agricultural land being transformed for commercial purpose...As the elected representatives too are involved in purchase/sale of lands and transformation of agricultural lands, they (elected representatives) have no right to preach about the Act to the people.”

This is a powerful statement coming from an MLA, a person who was inducted in the Council of Ministers in the early part of the first innings of the BJP led Government in Manipur and that this line has come from him, says so many things.

As stated in the opening sentence of this commentary, many must have started reading between the lines of what the BJP MLA has said.

That Radheshyam tagged the video clip to Hamara app, NaMo app, Narendra Modi, JP Nadda, BJP India, BJP for India, BJP Manipur, Information Department BJP Manipur, BJP Outer Parliamentary Constituency, BJP Thoubal district, BJYM Heirok Mandal and BJP Heirok Mandal, has made the developments within the BJP all that more interesting and to some crucial.

More than enough indication that there is more to the resignation that just quitting a responsibility that has been entrusted on him.

Equally interesting too would be to see if it will end with the resignation of Th Radheshyam as an Advisor to the Chief Minister or whether it can be taken to mean something significant, such as the first seed of discontent being planted against the leadership.

Early days yet, but the video footage of the former Advisor to the Chief Minister may be taken as something more than just a video shot of a person giving vent to his disappointments.

The very line, ‘Let’s stop telling lies, let’s speak only the truth’, from the BJP MLA also comes uncomfortably close to the understanding of the people being fed lies and more lies and view this against his little elaboration, ‘We have seen volumes of lies being spoken very impressively. People know and see these lies. If we continue to speak such lies on public platforms and through social media, we are ashamed of being politicians,’ and it should become clearer.

The key word here is lies, which may be understood as propaganda based on false premises.

As a man who has been elected to the Assembly for the second time on the trot (2017 and 2022), Th Radheshyam may be well placed to say and upload what he believes is ailing the State and correspondingly afflicting the people.

Not likely that the State Government would respond to the stand of the Heirok AC MLA, for Radheshyam did not go directly against anybody and this is where the earlier observation that ‘many would have started reading between the lines’ gains credence.

Dropping a sort of a bombshell, and it would be interesting to see if the Opposition Congress will pounce on what has been left unsaid but which can be understood, in the coming days.

As stated earlier, these are early days, but the fact that an MLA, that too from the BJP to boot, has decided to quit from his post as Advisor to the Chief Minister, has only made things more interesting and that too just as the BJP led Government has completed its first year in office of the second edition of the BJP led Government in Manipur.

The key word here is lies and this is what has added that much more colour and interest to the resignation.